Relapse
by TammyCat
Summary: G1. Based on mental image. Involves 'car' chases, kidnapping, surgery, the twins and maybe some fluff. Now with more Decepticon goodness. Bad summary, better on the inside.
1. Chapter 1

**This is just something i did while i fought writer's block. i found that staring at a blank screen invokes vivid images. this is inspired by that mental image.**

**please let me know what you think, i might turn it into something.**

* * *

Michelle looked over the list in her hand.

_Milk, bread, peanut-butter__, chocolate spread__, carrots, biscuits__, butter__…_

The list went on. How can three people eat this much? Michelle reflected on her housemates and conceded that the length of shopping list correctly indicated the appetites of the brothers. Michelle squashed her stab of envy, she didn't see how those two could eat so much and not gain a pound. It probably had something to do with their metabolisms but that didn't mean she had to like it.

_Bagels, muffins, eggs, soda, jelly, coffe__e, mini quiche?..._

It had been disconcerting at the beginning. She hadn't thought that her advertisement for housemates would have been picked up by a set of twins, let alone charismatic and handsome men. Shaking those thoughts out of her head Michelle returned her attention to her shopping, there was no way she was getting herself mixed up romantically with another set of twins. George and Brandon would have to find someone else, not that that was hard for them.

Living with the boys had been a real eye-opener for Michelle, she hadn't been expecting the immediate sense of 'safe' she felt around them or the amazing amount of dirty laundry they left for her to clean.

Shoving the rest of her groceries into the trolley Michelle aimed for the check-out. She grumbled quietly as she paid seventy-three dollars for her stash of goodies. They were so paying her back. Michelle quickly stowed the bags into the back of her car before leaving the parking lot.

When she reached her home Michelle was confronted with a sight she did not expect; an eclectic group of vehicles sat in and on her front yard.

"No, nononononononono!" Michelle practically forced the car into park before leaping out and advancing angrily. "I know what you are and I don't want anything to do with you."

An image of a man appeared next to the red van. "We just wanna talk to ya."

"Hmm, no I don't think so. Get off my property."

Another image appeared, this time next to the white and red ambulance. "We don't have time for this, get her and let's go."

The van's image scowled. "Prime said to convince her without force."

"Well she doesn't seem to want to help voluntarily so now we do it this way."

"Alright."

Michelle had stood frozen while the vehicles spoke to one another. Suddenly the red van began to shift and move. It occurred belatedly to Michelle that she should run, she'd dealt with these things before and had no intention of going through that again. Michelle took off across the lawn, dodging between the other cars parked in her front yard. As she past them they started changing. Michelle hit the pavement and dashed down the road. She knew that it would be easier for the giant robots to catch her this way but she knew of a side street two blocks away that was far too narrow for them to follow her.

The slight shaking of the ground beneath her feet alerted Michelle to the approaching robots. Diving off to the side she narrowly escaped a hand. The owner of that hand continued to jog past, unable to slow down in time.

Michelle picked herself up off the ground and took two steps before another hand closed around her.

"Put me down!"

"We just need your help for a little while."

Michelle glared angrily into the concerned blue eyes of the grey and black robot. "I don't care."

The ambulance stopped next to them. "Put her inside Bluestreak."

Her captor obeyed with an apologizing look.

"Why are you kidnapping me?" Michelle demanded once the doors locked behind her. "I thought you weren't supposed to harm humans.

"We haven't done anything to you." The voice sounded annoyed and tired. "I need you if the surgery is going to succeed."

A spark of fear jumped into Michelle's heart. "Surgery?"

The ambulance didn't reply. Michelle sat down and waited for the ride to end.

* * *

It took them two hours to get to wherever they were going. Michelle had watched the hands on her wristwatch move slowly around the face. Boredom, fear and concern churned in her stomach. 

The light coming through the windows dimmed as the entered the base. The ambulance didn't slow or stop until they reached a large door. The robot then transformed and Michelle found herself sitting in its palm. The door infront of them slid open.

Michelle's hand flew to her mouth as a startled gasp escaped her lips as her eyes widened to take in the scene of carnage before her.

"You remember the twins don't you?"


	2. Chapter 2

**It has occurred to me that i really didn't think this through so if you find anything that doesn't fit or should be in there please let me know. Thank you for your reviews, they made me write more.**

**The mental image i had is described in this chapter. if you can't pick it it concerns the twins and what they look like**.

* * *

Michelle's eyes widened as she recognized the familiar forms. The fear that had filled her heart receded as concern took its place.

"Put me down." She whispered.

The white robot moved closer to the motionless bodies. Michelle didn't know the name of the robot carrying and didn't really care either. Her eyes remained on the faces of the two mechs she had known a long time ago.

When she was close enough Michelle jumped off the metallic palm onto the examination table and stared into the blank face on the red twin. She placed a careful hand on the smooth metal of its cheek. Blue optics flickered on before a quiet voice reached her ears.

"Mickey?"

Michelle looked up to see the two glowing optics staring at her. Relief washed through her before combining with her anxiety and turning into anger. She shoved away from the robot and placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. The universal symbol of feminine outrage.

"What the hell happened?"

"We got slagged."

She glared down at the incapacitated robot and let her anger find her voice. "That's obvious. What were you doing, playing chicken with a train?"

"Got into a fight." Sideswipe shrunk away from her fury.

"Without back-up?"

He nodded feebly.

"Stupid idiot!" Michelle's foot connected with the side of Sideswipe's head with a loud clang. "You should know better than that." Her foot struck again. The hospitalized robot flinched.

The white robot appeared on the other side of the table. "If you could avoid doing further damage until they are fully repaired I'll give you a sledgehammer to use when they're released."

Sideswipe glared at him and muttered quietly. "You would."

"Who are you?"

"Ratchet, medical officer."

"I'll hold you to that Ratchet." She cast an anticipatory look at Sideswipe. "What do you need me for?"

Before speaking, Ratchet touched something on a screen next to Sideswipe's head. The blue optics that stared at her slowly shut down. "Before he went into stasis lock Sunstreaker told me that you had something of theirs."

"Ahh, so that's what this is about. I wondered if they were ever going to want that back." Michelle leaned her back against the side of Sideswipe's shoulder. "What did you just do to him?"

"I induced stasis lock. We've managed to repair all of their minor injuries but they have to have a significant energy store before any major surgery can be conducted."

"Why? Why not do it now while they're out?"

"If you operated on a human while they were recovering from severe blood-loss and physical trauma, they would die." Michelle nodded. Ratchet moved around the table to stand infront of her as he explained. "The same thing goes for transformers. If I operated now, when they are still extremely weak, I would risk off-lining them permanently. Plus it's more fun when they're awake."

Michelle nodded again and looked over her shoulder and studied the ravaged body. Sideswipe's red paint was all but gone, covered by scorch marks, dirt and streaks of darker paint. The metal armor that protected his abdomen was torn and mangled, like something had torn through it to get to the wires and circuits beneath. Said wires and circuits were sparking and giving off a faint odor that burned Michelle's nostrils.

Sideswipe was missing his left arm from the elbow down and his right looked like it had gone through a trash compactor, or as if something very heavy had jumped on it repeatedly. His legs didn't look much better; in fact his left foot was a cube.

Definitely a trash compactor, Michelle thought with a frown. A quick look at Sunstreaker showed that he was in even worse condition. He had the same torn up chest but he had no arms at all and his legs looked just like Sideswipe's arm, completely crushed.

Distress clouded Michelle's mind as she tried to figure out how they had gotten so fragged up. Her eyes found Ratchet's. "What happened?" Her voice no longer carried any anger.

"Like he said, they got into a fight. But they were outnumbered and the Decepticons used that advantage."

"Take me home." Desperation colored her words.

"What? You're not going to help them?" An unknown voice exclaimed. Michelle jumped at its sudden volume.

She turned to see the black and grey robot that had caught her standing by the door.

"Bluestreak you shouldn't be here." Ratchet said in a low voice.

The black and grey robot shifted. "I wanted to know if they were going to be alright."

Michelle smiled slightly. She had seen the effect the twins caused on humans but she never thought they could do that to other robots too.

"Bluestreak?" The robot looked at her. "I need to get something from my house. It will help them, I think. Will you take me?"

The robot stared at her for a few moments before transforming and opening his passenger-side door. Michelle smiled wider and nodded for the medic to help her to the floor.

"Go as fast as you can Bluestreak." Ratchet said as Michelle closed the door behind her. The Datsun then tore through the building, weaving through legs and into the desert.

* * *

**If you review i might tell you more about Michelle's historty with the twins. Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Right, I'm back. Thank you sooo much for your reviews. They inspire me.**

**Here is a bit of Michelle's backstory. It's mostly dialogue, sorry.**

**Thank you to Cascadia-science for pointing out that Bluestreak in actually black and grey. I have fixed that error **

**Disclaimer (thanks flamingmarsh, i forgot) : I don't own Transformers...even though it's the deepest wish in my little fangirl heart XD**

* * *

It took fifteen minutes of tense silence before Michelle broke. She had never been able to stand extended periods of silence. When Ratchet had kidnapped her, her head had been full of thoughts and ideas of escape and why they wanted her that she hadn't really noticed the silence. Not that she would have spoken to him anyway.

But this stretch of silence was starting to grate on her nerves, and the only way Michelle knew how to combat that was to talk.

"So, Bluestreak, what do you do?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm a gunner."

"What does that mean?"

"I provide cover for the melee fighters. I specialize in firearms and long-range weapons."

"Oh, so you're like a sniper or something."

"Yeah." Michelle could hear the smile in his voice. "What do you do?'

"I'm a receptionist." She replied.

There was a pause before Bluestreak spoke. "How do you know the twins?"

Michelle's laugh was more of a tense bark. "I met them years ago. They were such trouble-makers, I felt right at home." Her voice turned sad. "I haven't seen them in five years."

"What happened?"

Michelle shrugged. "I don't know. One day they turned up at my house, said that something important was happening and that they were needed and took off. Sunny said that they would be back in a month max. They never came back."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's because they left that I'm the person I am today." Bluestreak's silence encouraged her to tell her story. "I was such a bad child. A delinquent. I skipped school, stole things, I was horrible to my parents, hung out with the 'wrong' sort of people. I was fifteen when I met the boys. At my rebellious peak. They seemed like the coolest people to be around. I don't know why they chose me but I'll be forever grateful that they did."

"Chose you?"

"Yeah. I was with my 'friends' when they pulled up. Two sleek, sexy Lamborghinis, they asked if I could help them get somewhere. They were known all over the neighborhood as the coolest, fastest bastards around. So of course I said yes, not only were the car's gorgeous but so were the two guys inside. I was in way over my head with my group at the time. Sunny and Sides saved me from jail."

"Wait. They got someone out of trouble?"

Michelle laughed again, the tension easing from her frame. "It was more like going from one kind of trouble to another. The boys were irresponsible but the gang was criminal. They were the lesser of two evils."

"Not many people would say that."

"True, but that's how it was. We got close after that, I never quite understood why they stayed with me. I was nothing special; there were lots of other more pretty girls, more talented girls, lots of better people. But they stayed and taught me how to look after myself."

"Did you change much?"

"Not back then, I was still skipping school and being mean to my parents but I did stop stealing. They gave me better things to do. Taught me about cars, pranks and living free."

"That sounds like them."

Michelle smiled at the steering wheel. She had been blabbing about her past, now she wanted to know about this guy. "So Bluestreak, which one is it?"

"Wha-?"

"Or is it both?" Michelle grinned as she had the distinctive feeling of the Datsun squirming.

"I don't know what you mean?"

"Don't give me that crap." Michelle scoffed playfully. "I saw how you were watching the twins. Is it one or both?"

Bluestreak mumbled something but it was too low and jumbled for Michelle to make out.

"What was that?"

"Both." Bluestreak grumbled.

She laughed. "Those bastards. Do they know?"

A hologram appeared in the driver's seat. It nodded. Michelle felt that 'awww' feeling growing in her heart. After the twins were healed she would have to sit them down and have a talk with them, Bluestreak was just too nice to trifle with.

* * *

**I know that Bluestreak is actually more of a talker than that, but he's upset about the twins. But then who wouldn't be, stupid slaggers (I really do love them)**

**I don't know how much longer this story is going to last but I think there will be some action in the next piece, but only if you review. Please?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi all. Thank you for reviewing.**

**To clear some confusion, in the last chapter there was reference to a pairing between the twins and Bluestreak. Something might come of it...but only if you want it to, so please review.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers (If i did i would have a life-size Sunny and Sides made.)**

* * *

The street was quiet when Bluestreak shut off his engine. There were still faint tire marks in the grass but to indicate that there had been several giant robots tearing down the street. With a sigh of relief Michelle directed Bluestreak to park across the road from her house. She dashed across the road to her car, which was still sitting there with the keys in the ignition and the engine running but without the bags.

Someone stole my groceries but not my car? The thought made no sense to Michelle as she turned off the engine and pulled the keys out. Hey look, her handbag was here too.

Why would a thief leave her purse and car behind? It was a perfectly good car, okay so it was at least ten years old and had had its share of wear and tear but it was still a good car. Michelle noticed then that there were two cars in the driveway. Ah! George and Brandon must be home.

Frag! How would she explain her car idling for hours without her anywhere near it?

Michelle approached the door warily; she shoved her key into the lock and opened the door. A strange almost burning smell hit her like a wall. Covering her mouth and nose she ran into the kitchen to see Brandon stirring a pot of black goo. The look on his face informed her that it was no supposed to look like black goo.

"What are you doing?"

The brown haired brother turned at her voice. His face lit up with relief. "Michelle! When did you get here? Your car's out the front you know."

Michelle dropped her bag on the table and went to open a window, the man was hopeless in the kitchen. A blind monkey could make a more edible meal than Brandon. "I know. Why didn't you turn off when you brought the groceries in?"

"Oh, I didn't want to touch it after you got so angry with George last time." He smiled sheepishly before returning to his bubbling mess. Michelle accepted his excuse; it was true, she had blown up at his brother for tinkering with her car, except that George had been trying to install some gadget that had stuffed up her speed and fuel gauges.

Michelle sniffed as the burning smell was replaced by good old, slightly polluted, suburban air. Satisfied that Brandon wasn't about to burn down the kitchen, Michelle made her way to her bedroom.

It was a fairly standard house. The front door opened on a small entry hall which led into a lounge, a bench separated the kitchen from the dining room. Next to the kitchen was a hallway that opened to four bedrooms. Three were taken by herself and the twins and the forth was full of random debris that she had collected over the years and hadn't gotten around to throwing out yet.

Her bedroom was currently a mess of clothes and furniture. A quick scan of it showed that when she got home again she would need to do a serious clean out.

The object she was searching for was small and light yet exceedingly bright and beautiful. It was hidden away in a chest under her bed. The chest itself was plain and didn't attract the eye, which made it a perfect hiding spot for all her most precious treasures.

It occurred to Michelle that if she had seriously wanted to erase Sunstreaker and Sideswipe from her life she should have gotten rid of the pendent back when they had first left, Michelle's sentimental half pushed forward and reminded her that she had always been hoping that the twins would return one day.

Michelle quickly scooped the trinket into her palm and headed for the door. George popped his head out of his room as she hurried passed.

"Hey Michelle."

Studied politeness made Michelle stop. "Hi George. How was your day?" She casually slipped the necklace into her pocket.

The black haired twin leaned against the frame and made himself comfortable. "It was so-so, you know how it is."

Michelle nodded. "Yeah I do. Um, I'm just on my way out, are you and your brother set for dinner?"

George straightened and followed as Michelle headed for the lounge. "Didn't you just get in? You must have left in a hurry, you're engine was still going."

"Yeah I had to run." That wasn't a lie. "A friend of mine needed some help." That wasn't a lie either.

"Where are you going now?"

"I got a call from my Mom while I was out. Dad's having some trouble again and she wants me to drop by." That was a lie.

George smiled and nodded. Brandon appeared next to her. "Can you stay for dinner?"

No doubt he burnt the goo. "Ah, I don't think so. I'm in a kind of rush, my…driver is waiting out front." Michelle edged closer to the door but Brandon blocked her escape. "Please." His puppy-dog eyes always undid her.

"Alright. Let me just go tell the driver not to worry."

"I'll do it." George offered.

That's weird, George never offers to do anything. Shaking off the odd feeling George's sudden helpfulness gave her Michelle shook her head. "No it's okay, I'll do it."

A look past between the brothers and the feeling of 'safe' that she usually felt around them vanished like smoke. Trying not to give away her sudden unease Michelle smiled and headed for the door. She was pulling it open when Brandon appeared next to her and slammed it shut again.

"What are you doing?" Michelle asked.

"You should really let us deal with your _driver_."

Fear sparked in Michelle's heart. The way he had said 'driver' made it seem like he knew something he shouldn't. "Let me past Brandon."

"I don't think so." George said from directly behind her.

Michelle's eyes widened as he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back into the lounge.

* * *

**o.O Please review if you want to know what happens next. **

**To clear any confusion that might have arisen. George and Brandon are not Sunny and Sides in holoform. Just putting that out there incase anyone thought they were at the start**.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay and we're back. Sorry about the long wait but my family went interstate for christmas and I didn't have access to a computer. My cousin is addicted to W.O.W. so he only left his room for food and the occasional socialising.**

**oh and I don't know what color taxi's are in the states, so Bluestreak is playing 'pretend'.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers**

* * *

I could really use Sunny and Sides right now. Michelle thought as she was pushed onto the couch. Brandon circled behind the couch while George stood infront of her.

Maybe I should call out to Bluestreak. She dismissed the option. The young robot would undoubtedly cause a great deal of destruction to her house if he tried to rescue her. That meant her only choice was to take care of this herself.

"I know Brandon can't cook to save his life but this is a little extreme don't you think?"

George crouched. "Just do what we say and we won't hurt you."

Won't hurt me? What the hell?

"George, what is going on? I just want to pay the taxi."

George stared into her eyes. She knew what he saw there; sincerity, confusion and fear. She had been an excellent actress from the age of seven, she had perfected the skill of lying through her teeth during her adolescence.

Her expression must have appeased him because he backed off. "I'll take care of that. Davies, watch her." He then turned and exited the house. Brandon moved around to sit beside her.

Davies? I thought his name was Brandon Milford. "Brandon tell me what's going on." she turned her confused innocent expression on the brown haired man.

"Don't worry about it. George and I will take care of everything."

How stupid does he think I am? Oh well, that can be easily played upon. "Please?"

"How about we do something to take your mind off it?" His leering expression left no doubt in Michelle's mind about what he wanted to do.

"Why did he call you Davies?" She asked hastily.

Brandon pulled away slightly as his expression closed. "Just cooperate and you won't get hurt."

That's two threats against her health and she didn't like threats. Michelle smiled tightly as her anger swelled. "Was that a threat? I don't respond well to threats."

"It's not a threat. It's a promise." Brandon replied softly.

A shiver ran down her back. He means it.

Michelle quickly buried the stab of fear behind the bravado left behind from her younger days. "You know what, this is my house and I won't put up with being manhandled and lied to in my own home."

She stood up, quickly followed by Brandon. He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face him.

"Calm down Michelle. No-one's lying to you. Just sit there quietly while we take care of things." He gave her shoulders a push and she landed back on the cushions. "Now be a good girl and I'll get you something to drink."

Michelle's simmering anger turned to full blown rage as he uttered those hated words 'good girl'.

Ever since she was a child he parents had been referring to her as a 'good girl'. It was because of these constantly uttered words that Michelle had done her best to be a bad girl.

Flames must have been shooting from her eyes because when she stood up again Brandon stepped back a little. "I'm a _good girl_ am I?"

Looking back Michelle didn't really know what happened but Brandon ended up on the floor clutching at himself and there was a throbbing pain in both her hands and her foot.

Satisfied that she had done enough damage Michelle tore through the house. I have to get to Bluestreak, then I can leave this all behind. Maybe I will stay with the twins if they ask me to.

Charging out the front door Michelle called out to the grey and black transformer. Her blood chilled as she saw George walking up the path. He looked shocked to see her standing on the porch but he didn't stop. Michelle quickly scanned the area for Bluestreak, he wasn't there. Where did he go? Surely he wouldn't have left without me no matter what George said.

George was three feet away at the bottom of the porch steps when Michelle finally moved. She dashed to the side, he followed. She gripped the railing and flung herself over it, she heard George curse behind her before his footsteps thumped down the steps again.

Michelle knew that she would have no chance outrunning her pursuer. He was bigger, stronger and had longer legs. Deciding her only option was to find help she took off in the direction Bluestreak had presumably gone. Similar to her earlier situation with the Autobots Michelle took to the road; the asphalt flew under her feet. She dodged between parked cars trying to slow George down. Refusing to look behind her Michelle scanned the cars ahead. She couldn't see Bluestreak anywhere.

Suddenly Michelle felt a vice-like grip on her arm and she knew that the chase was over, just like last time she had been caught, but she doubted she would be treated so well by this captor.

"I don't know what happened to Davies but you're coming back with me and you won't make anymore trouble." His words were followed by something hard pressing into her back. He had a gun.

Michelle fought the instinct to shrink away from him, it would only betray her fear and she never bowed to fear. Gathering up her courage and breath Michelle screamed.

"BLUESTREAK!!!!"

George released her arm and covered her mouth, preventing anymore shouting. The bastard was clever, his hand was curved just enough so that she couldn't bite him. Muffled protests escaped her throat as he began to drag her back.

Just then a deep growl made both humans turn around. Sitting in the middle of the road was Michelle's savior, a black and grey Datsun Fairlady. The car rumbled again before its tires spun and it began circling them. Every now and then the Datsun would clip George as it passed by, his intention was obviously intimidation. And it was working. Michelle could feel George shaking as the shiny metal brushed his shirtsleeves.

At length Bluestreak stopped and faced them again. His engine revved. Undaunted yet quite intimidated George lifted the gun barrel from Michelle's back and placed it against her temple. Terror made Michelle freeze. Bluestreak's engine stalled.

"Release the girl."

"No. I have the ace and I intend to use it."

"What do you want?"

"You and your friends to-argh!" He cried out as weigh slammed onto his toe and an elbow hit his ribs.

Michelle jerked away from George, shoving a hand in her pocket she withdrew the necklace. "Blue! Catch!"

She threw the necklace just as George regained his grip on her other arm. Bluestreak swung his aft around and caught the flying treasure. It landed softly on his leather seat.

"Go Blue! Get to Ratchet!"

He hesitated; the twins would be upset if he left her here. But then again there would be no twins if he didn't get back soon. "I'll come back for you." Bluestreak called through his radio before tearing down the street.

George placed the gun against her back again. "We're going home and you're not going to fight us anymore, or there won't be anything for it to come back to."

Michelle gulped and nodded. She was then pulled back towards the house.

* * *

High above a pair of seekers monitored the action below.

"I think we found what we were looking for."

"I think you're right. It's time to show those Autobrats that seekers don't go down without a fight."

"Or a hostage."

* * *

**hehehe.**

**Please review if you enjoyed it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Right I'm back. I apologise for the delay. **

**Please forgive me but I had no idea what to do with the necklace and this seemed... well not likely but more believable than any of my other ideas. So please don't shoot.**

**Thank you for all your reviews, they are always appreciated.**

**I don't own Transformers.**

* * *

Bluestreak raced out of the suburban city with the local law enforcement on his tail. It didn't matter how long they chased him, they would never catch him, he was faster than any earth-made machine.

Tearing through the desert at three times the legal speed limit, he left the cops behind in a cloud of dust. He didn't slow down until he was in visual range of the Ark.

Bluestreak could feel the power pulsing in the pendent on his seat, it reminded him faintly of the Twins yet at the same time it felt like Michelle. A strange combination.

He didn't stop until he reached the medbay, the door slid open just as he arrived.

"Do you have it?" First-Aid asked desperately.

"Yeah, what is it?" Bluestreak handed over the necklace and followed the medic inside.

"A small piece of their spark." Ratchet replied from his spot next to Sunstreaker.

Blue stopped in shock. "What!?"

Ratchet looked at him over his shoulder. "The Twins share a single spark and a small piece came loose. They gave it to the girl." He spoke as if it happened all the time.

Bluestreak remained frozen. _Did Michelle know that she had held a spark shard?_

"By the way, where is the girl?"

He mentally shook himself. "She's in trouble, I have to go back."

"What sort of trouble?"

"The sort that involves guns and pissed-off humans."

Ratchet slanted him a look.

"I didn't do anything until after they attacked her. He seemed to know what I was."

"Lots off humans know we exist." Ratchet countered.

"But I'm not as noticeable as the others." Blue defended.

First-Aid piped up. "Sir, they're ready."

Ratchet nodded and ushered Bluestreak out. "You can either wait for them or you can check on the girl, your choice. Just let Prime know what you're doing."

"How long until they can be released?"

"Depends on how well the surgery goes and how quickly they recover. It may take hours it may take days. It would take less time if Wheeljack was here." Ratchet quipped as the inventor hurried around the corner, muttering apologies he slipped into the medbay. "Make a choice, just don't do anything stupid." With that Ratchet stepped back and the door slid shut.

* * *

"Hey 'Cracker, why didn't we chase that Autobot?" Skywarp asked as they glided over the streets.

"Because he's not the one we're after. We want the human." Thundercracker replied.

"I thought we wanted a hostage, wouldn't an Autobot be better than a human?"

TC vented a long-suffering sigh. _Why was Skywarp so stupid? _"Do you remember a few years ago when we were minding our own business and those Autobrat twins attacked us?"

"They've attacked us lots of times over the years."

"True, but this time we weren't doing anything."

There was a pause as Skywarp checked his memory banks. "Yeah I remember. That was uncalled for, we hadn't killed anyone."

"I found out later that they were protecting a human, a girl." _Good 'Warp's listening_. "Now if we find the girl we can use her against the Autobots."

"It was the girl with the Autobot just then wasn't it?"

"Yep."

"But she didn't leave with him."

"Nope."

"Then where do we find her?"

"There." Thundercracker sent him the coordinates of the house he had seen the human disappear into. "She was with another human.

"Excellent. Are we going to take them now?"

"No, I don't think we will. We have to give those Twins a chance to repair themselves after their ordeal this morning." TC happily recalled the ambush that had left the Autobot twins almost permanently deactivated. The three cone-head seekers had happily joined in along with Soundwave's cassette's. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were a plague on all seekers with their '_Jet Judo_'. It hadn't taken much to convince the cone-heads to join in the ambush; the cassettes had come along just for the fun of kicking Autobot aft.

"What do we do until then?" Skywarp asked.

"We make sure that the human stays alive while having a little fun." He angled towards the ground.

* * *

Michelle struggled as George pulled her bodily into the house. Brandon was waiting in the kitchen. He was scowling darkly while holding an icepack on his face and between his legs.

"Holy shit, what happened to you?" George exclaimed as he shoved Michelle onto the couch.

"She did." Brandon growled, a black mark spread across his cheek.

George slanted her a look before walking away to his bedroom.

_They're being a lot less hostile now that we're inside. Who are they?_

George came back with a pair of hand-cuffs.

_I don't want to know why he keeps them in his room._

Michelle fought as Brandon pulled her from the couch and forced her arms behind her back, soon with her hands bound behind her back Michelle was returned to the cushions. The metal bit painfully into her wrists when she tried to pull her hands apart. She watched angrily as George and Brandon moved away, they were talking in low voices, too low for Michelle to hear. Brandon nodded and disappeared out the back.

"What the hell is going on?" Michelle demanded as George crouched infront of her.

"We'll be asking the questions." He replied.

Michelle fumed silently as Brandon returned with a length of rope.

_Where did he pull that from?_

George held Michelle's feet while Brandon tied them together, no amount of kicking got her freed. Although she didn't know what she would do if she did get free. There wasn't much she could do with her hands behind her back.

With her reasonably restrained the pair moved into the kitchen to talk. Michelle was on the couch getting more board with every passing minute.

_I thought they were going to interrogate me?_ She sighed heavily. _And they say women are unreliable._

Shifting in her bonds she tried to reach the television remote, which was wedged between the cushions. If she had to be stuck here she would at least deaden her brain with mindless daytime tv. Her fingers closed over the edge of the remote, twisting her body she pulled it out and turned it on. Watching tv with her back twisted wasn't the most comfortable thing but at least she could channel surf.

Michelle stopped when her back began to ache. Slumping in her seat she watched as cheesy characters played out their over-dramatized lives. Michelle's eyes glazed over, she could practically feel her intelligence falling as her brain was invaded by bad dialogue.

"Michelle we need to ask you a few questions."

"I'm sorry Mort, the baby's not yours." Michelle spouted. The confused look on George's face was satisfying. Maybe watching daytime tv could come in handy. "Please Terrence, don't leave me, I didn't mean to spend that night in the Caribbean with your brother."

"What is she talking about?" George asked.

"She's been watching soaps." Brandon said disgustedly, he wrenched the remote from her lax grip and turned the tv off.

"That wasn't very nice." Michelle huffed.

Brandon leaned into her face. "Don't play cute. Now tell us what you know."

George perched on the armrest. "Don't be too harsh Davies, this isn't an interrogation."

"It isn't? Then can you release my wrists? The metal is chaffing." Michelle asked with a smile.

"When you answer our questions we'll discus it." He replied.

Michelle rolled her eyes. _It would probably be better for my health if I cooperate. They still have guns_. "Shoot."

"How long have you been aware of the aliens?" Brandon asked the questions while George took notes

"Seven years."

"What is your association with the aliens?"

_My association?_ "I was sleeping with them obviously" Brandon and George exchanged a look. "What are you stupid? We were friends."

"When did your association renew?"

Michelle did some mental calculations. "About four hours ago."

"Do you intend to remain in contact with the aliens?"

"It depends on whether the Twins survive or not."

"What did you give the alien that brought you here?"

"A necklace."

"What was special about the necklace?"

"Nothing that I know about."

From whom did you receive the necklace?"

"The Twins."

"Are the 'twins' aliens?"

"Yes."

"Do you know where the aliens are hiding?"

Michelle thought back to the ride to and from the large spacecraft. "No."

Brandon shoved his face into hers. "You're lying. I can tell."

"I can't tell you what I don't know. Now answer my questions, who are you?"

Brandon cast a quizzical look at George.

"I'm Agent George Mason, FBI."

"Brandon Davies, FBI."

"FBI? Why the hell are you staying with me?"

"We're undercover."

"By the way, we aren't brothers." Brandon quipped.

"Oh wow, I totally didn't pick up on that." Michelle replied sarcastically. "Tell you what, release me now and I won't press charges."

"Why would we release you?" Brandon asked.

"Because I'm not under arrest."

George was about to say something when the house began to shake.

"What the hell? Is it an earthquake?"

The walls shook, pictures fell from the wall and anything not held down began to shift. Large cracks spread along the ceiling.

_This can't be good for the plumbing._ Michelle eyed the widening cracks with apprehension. A feeling settled low in her stomach. _This won't end well will it?_

Suddenly the plaster gave way to a set of large fingers. The dark hands were pulling the roof off her house! The fissures in the ceiling spread down the wall as the roof was ripped away.

_Damn, I just paid off the mortgage._

A pair of dark red orbs glared into the topless building. These were quickly joined by another pair.

"Good the human is still alive." A large hand reached in and plucked Michelle off the couch.

Brandon and George had un-holstered their guns and were now shooting at the robots.

"Hey stop that! You'll hit me!" Michelle shouted as a bullet ricocheted off the metal near her.

"Stupid humans, do you really think your primitive weapons can harm us?" The one that held her sneered. It was blue with red stripes across what were obviously its wings.

"Who are you?" George yelled. The blue one pinched the chain between the cuffs, breaking the link. Michelle rubbed her newly freed wrists while watching the robot closely.

"Decepticons." The dark purple one looked to the blue. A spike of fear went down Michelle's back. "Hey TC, can I kill them?"

A thoughtful look passed over the pale face. "Only one, the other might come in handy."

The purple one smirked before leveling his machine gun at the men. Her fear was suddenly gone.

"No!" Michelle slammed her fists into the wrist of her captor. "You've already ripped the roof off my house, you will not put holes in my furniture!"

The two silver faces stared at her for a moment before bursting out laughing. Michelle simmered with impotent rage as the large robots continued to howl. The black hand tightened convulsively as the mech holding her laughed.

_I've been caught three times in the last four and a half hours__, and no one is taking me seriously._

Michelle rested her chin in her hand with her elbow braced on the smooth metal as she waited for them to settle.

"I see why the Autobots keep this one, it's funny." The purple one chuckled.

"She will be most entertaining while we wait for the Autobots." The blue one agreed.

_Great now I'm__ part of the show_. "Can I at least know who's holding me and why you want me?"

"I am Thundercracker, this is Skywarp. You, human, will be the bait. You will bring the Autobrat twins here so we can deactivate them properly this time."

Michelle's blood ran cold then hot. They were going to ambush the twins again. They were the reason the twins were so close to death. Scowling darkly Michelle mentally vowed revenge.

"Skywarp, collect the humans, we'll take them all."

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**Please review if you enjoyed.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey all,**

**Thank you for your reviews they mean a great deal to me.**

**I don't know how much longer this is going to last but there are still a couple of chapters in me, so if there is anything you would like to see happen or if you have any ideas about where it should go, please let me know. I'm open to all ideas :)**

**Enjoy**

* * *

He paced the rec room. Waiting was not something Bluestreak was particularly good at, especially when it was an order. After pacing infront of the med-bay for a while he had sought out Optimus Prime intending to get permission to rescue Michelle.

Prime had told him to wait until he had some back up before going to help Michelle, and as much as Blue was itching to race to Michelle's aid he knew that he would have a better chance at saving her if there was more than one.

So he was now alternately sitting or pacing, waiting for the Twins to appear.

* * *

Michelle stared at her ruined house tallying up how much it would cost to fix.

_I'll need a loan, especially if I want my roof reattached. Bloody robots!_

The giant red-eyed transformers had made themselves comfortable. Thundercracker was seated in the backyard amongst the hydrangeas while Skywarp lounged against the garage. Skywarp still held George and Brandon, he was playing with them as though they were a pair of GI Joes.

The sight of her housemates getting manhandled didn't affect Michelle as much as she thought it would, maybe it had something to do with them sticking a gun in her face.

Looking up at her captor she could swear that he was smiling.

"What do you want from me?"

"Entertainment."

"So you came here just to ruin my house and make me dance?" Michelle asked dryly.

Thundercracker smiled. "You can dance?" Michelle growled and the robot laughed evilly. "You are close to the Autobots Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, we will use this association to destroy them."

"But why?" Michelle asked, horrified.

The blue Decepticon scowled. "That's none of your business human. Now entertain us."

Michelle blinked dazedly as she was placed on the ground. This could not be happening, she was not being held captive in her own backyard by massive robots, her housemates were not FBI agents and Sunny and Sides were not almost dead. This was just one big fragging awful dream, one that she would wake up from now…now…how about now?

Damn, okay so it's not a dream but at least it was worth a try.

Thundercracker was watching her carefully and Skywarp was peering over the roofless frame of her house; Brandon and George still in his grip.

"What do you want me to do?" Michelle asked in resignation.

"You said you could dance. Do it."

Michelle seriously considered making a run for the street, but with her luck she would get hit by a car or even better an Autobot.

Staring at the blue robot she searched through her mind for some excuse not to humiliate herself. "There's no music."

TC looked at Skywarp. Skywarp snickered and started to hum the tune of 'I dream of Jeanie' while at the same time made George and Brandon dance together in the air.

Michelle was torn between wanting to jump infront of a car and bursting out laughing.

"Is he always like that?" she asked in a low voice.

Thundercracker sighed toleratingly. "Yes. He's ruthless but…stupid."

This surprised Michelle, she had assumed that the Decepticons were all cunning and sneaky. She also hadn't expected TC to confide that to her, surely Skywarp's lack of brains was a weakness. Why would he admit his partner's weakness to the enemy? Michelle at least assumed she was the enemy.

_You're not going to live long enough to use that information_. The cynical side of her brain told her.

_Maybe everyone already knows._ She replied hopefully.

_Then why hasn't he been taken out of action?__ If everyone knew he would be a liability. _Her cynical side responded.

Michelle's heart sank as she realized that she was arguing with herself and losing.

A large finger poking her in the side broke her thoughts. Michelle mentally shook herself to dispel the sense of foreboding settling in her heart.

"Human, you are meant to be entertaining me."

"What do you usually do for entertainment?"

The grin that spread across Thundercracker's face sent chills down Michelle's spine. "Terrorize humans."

Michelle fought back panic. "Well Skywarp is already doing that, why don't you watch him?"

"Because watching fear cover your face is far more fun." He reached down for her.

Michelle had no doubt that her face fairly screamed terror as she raced around the small backyard dodging Thundercracker's hand.

It occurred to her belatedly that she had nowhere to run, Thundercracker's legs blocked off any escape route. So when she was finally caught she had already run into his thighs a couple of times.

Face hot with exertion and embarrassment Michelle made a silent vow to terrorize the Twins until either she or they died, whichever came first. It was all their fault that she was in this predicament and she had every intention of letting them hear about it for as long as possible.

She was brought up to Thundercracker's face. The smugness in his red optics made Michelle angry all over again. She banged her fists against his wrist as she tried to struggle free. She was rewarded with a tightening grip around her waist. She yelped when the pressure got too hard.

"Behave or you will join the other humans."

Michelle looked over her shoulder at Skywarp. He still had George and Brandon only now they were dangling by the back of their shirts over the broken roofing.

_He's going to kill them!_ She may not be overly happy with the pair but Michelle was still against killing them.

"Stop him!" She shouted at Thundercracker.

"Why?" The Decepticon asked.

"Because he'll kill them if he drops them."

"That isn't my problem."

Michelle's started to worry as Skywarp began to bounce them up and down. "I'll do anything you want, just don't kill them!"

Thundercracker smiled and ordered Skywarp to be careful. Michelle got a sinking feeling that she had just signed her soul to the devil.

* * *

Bluestreak barely paid attention to who walked into the rec room through the day. He vaguely recalled Jazz talking to him as well as Mirage trying to convince him to join some others outside for a soccer match. Blue remained in the rec room waiting for Prime to give him some orders or for the Twins to appear. Michelle's situation laid heavily on his mind. It would be best if he could get her out of there without harming the male humans but if push came to shove, he would do what was necessary without killing.

The sun was setting outside when Ratchet entered. Bluestreak leapt to his feet and rushed to the medic.

Ratchet looked tired but that could mean either good or bad things. Either they survived or they didn't.

"Ratch, are they okay?"

"They will live to prank another day."

Bluestreak contained his bubbling joy and raced to the med-bay. Sliding to a halt he braced himself for what the Twins would look like, they had looked horrific when he had last been in here. Easing open the door he was welcomed with the sight of Sideswipe's back as he leaned over Sunstreaker.

Alarm pulsed in Bluestreak spark. Was something wrong?

"Hold still Sunny."

"Would you hurry up. I hate looking like this."

"If you don't stop squirming I'll make look like Prowl on Halloween."

Bluestreak vented a sigh of relief. If they were bickering and if Sunny was worried about his appearance, they were fine.

Sides spun around at the sound. "Blue!"

Hurrying over to the Twins he quickly found himself in the middle of a Lamborghini sandwich.

He pulled out of the hug and studied the brothers. Holding him at arms length Blue scanned the red twin; Sideswipe still looked a little battered with large patches of his paint missing but at least his arm had been reattached. There was a large piece of bare armor across his chest covering the hole his assailants had made trying to get to his spark.

Assured that Sideswipe was healthy once again Bluestreak turned his attention to where Sunstreaker was laying on the table. Sunny had taken the most damage and it showed. His face-plates were still dented and his legs were still a bit crushed. But it was mostly cosmetic. Blue's main concern was his arms, the arms which had been ripped off. Both arms had been reattached but concern still dominated Bluestreak's emotion chip. His chest was the same as Sideswipes but with a bit more color, apparently Sideswipe had been renewing his paint when Bluestreak had entered.

"How are you feeling?" He ran a hand down Sunny's new arm.

"Better than we were a couple of hours ago." Sideswipe replied.

"Ratchet said we could leave in the morning, but I reckon we can convince him to let us leave early." Sunny said with a wicked gleam in his optics.

Pleased that the Twins were behaving like normal Bluestreak allowed himself to focus his worry on Michelle. He ached to tell them what had happened to their friend but he didn't know how to phrase it.

Watching as they tried to make Sunstreaker more presentable, Blue decided that being blunt was the only way.

"Guys, your human friend Michelle is in trouble."

Both brothers looked at him.

"Mickey? How do you know about her?" Sunny asked.

"I remember her being here, but I thought that was just a stasis dream." Sides said.

"No, she was here and we have to go help her."

"What's happened this time? Did she get caught stealing another gnome?" Sunny snickered.

"No. Some humans have her, they have guns."

That brought the twins to attention. "Is she okay?" Sideswipe demanded.

"I don't know, she was when I left."

"You left her?" Sideswipe asked in disbelief.

"When was that?" Sunstreaker took charge.

"A few hours ago. The sun was still up."

Sideswipe cursed as Sunny climbed off the bench. "Sides, we have to see her."

"I know, I hope she forgives us for what happened."

"She was very concerned when she saw you." Blue said. He winced as Sides sent him a frown. Sunstreaker's hand appeared on his shoulder.

"Where is she?"

"In Beaumont. I'll show you." Bluestreak was out the door before either brother could protest. Finding Optimus Prime was easy, convincing him to let the Twins out of the Ark so soon after their operation was hard.

Blue knew that protocol stated that the Twins shouldn't leave the Ark for at least another two days and definitely should stay away from any conflict, but something in Bluestreak's mainframe told him that Michelle didn't have two days. They needed to help her now.

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**What did you think? Please review.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the wait. I couldn't get any ideas out :(**

**Big thank yous to everyone who reviewed.**

**If anyone knows the transformer equivalent of hours, minutes, days, weeks, etc. I will love you forever if you could let me know...Please?**

**_Note:_ This chapter is set several hours after chapter 7**

**Enjoy! **

**I do not own Transformers, Mickey Mouse or Disneyland**

_#Comm.link#_

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The sky was fading from a dark blue to violet as the two seekers waited for the Autobots to make an appearance. To keep the humans in line both jet's used the lights on their bodies to brighten up the yard. Thundercracker's environmental sensors informed him that the temperature was fairly warm. The information merely served to ensure that the humans would not suffer adversely. No matter how entertaining it would be, frozen or sick humans wouldn't be able to serve their part when the Autobots arrived.

"Hey TC!"

Thundercracker turned to his counterpart.

"I'm bored. These humans are no longer entertaining." Skywarp complained.

Thundercracker scowled, indeed the human males were being troublesome and it would be more fun if they could just dispose of them, but then the female would become uncooperative and they needed her for his plan to work.

Plus if they left, the Autobrats might not find them, unless…

_#Warp, barricade the house and drop one of the humans in there.#_

Taking the hint Skywarp replied via comm. link_. #So we're not killing them?#_

_#Bring along__ the one you want to kill most. You might get the chance later.#_

Skywarp grinned in anticipation.

Thundercracker returned his attention to the human female. Ever since she had agreed to do whatever he wished she had been very obedient. It was a nice change to her constantly trying to put dents in his wrist armor.

She was now retrieving pieces of material from a plastic cable. Curious, TC continued to watch as she labored. He had been staring for several minutes when she had finally realized someone was watching her.

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Can I help you?"

_Too bad her tone hadn't changed_. "What are you doing human?"

"I have a name, it's Michelle."

"What are you doing _human_?"

The female sighed. "Taking down the washing."

"Why?"

"Why not? I've got nothing better to do?"

Thundercracker looked at her for a moment before an idea struck him. With a wicked smile he picked up the human. She squawked in surprise and stared at him with wide eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"My armor needs to be polished."

The human's mouth opened and closed several times without any sound coming out. A quiet chuckle brought Thundercracker's attention to Skywarp. The purple seeker had imprisoned one of the males in a small room. He had ensured the man stayed captive by blocking off the doorway and sealing the windows, the human was currently yelling at Skywarp.

Thundercracker shifted to his feet. "Bring the rags with you. You will polish my armor while we wait."

"Where are we going?"

"To the desert. There's an old ranch were Skywarp can play with his new toy." He said it just loud enough for the human in the building to hear.

If his plan went properly the Autobots would find themselves in another ambush, but of a more debilitating kind.

Thundercracker made sure the human was properly confined before leaping into the sky. The Autobots would receive quite a surprise when they arrived.

* * *

Bluestreak led Sunstreaker and Sideswipe towards Beaumont as dawn broke on the horizon. 

Sideswipe had quickly gotten over his anger at having heard that Blue had left Michelle behind. The level of anger he had felt had quite surprised Sideswipe, since it was usually Sunny that was prey to a short temper. They had put it down to post-surgery neural imbalances.

"How long has Mickey been living with these guys?" Sunstreaker asked after Bluestreak had explained the situation.

"I don't know, I didn't ask. It really didn't seem relevant at the time."

"I would have thought she would have seen through them. Mickey has always been a good judge of character." Sideswipe put in.

"Why do you call her Mickey? Is it because her name is Michelle?"

"Nah." Sides replied. "We've called her Mickey ever since we saw her with the ears."

"The ears?" Blue was thoroughly confused. Didn't she have normal human ears?

Sunny moved next to him and explained. "About three months after we met her, we went to pick her up, she had been complaining the day before that her Aunt was coming back from vacation and would no doubt expect her to sit for hours while they went through photographs."

"Anyway," Sideswipe picked up the tale. "We arrived, and she answered the door in a pair of Mickey Mouse ears and a Disneyland jumper." The red twin began chuckling.

Bluestreak tried to imagine Michelle in a pair of Mickey Mouse ears, it didn't seem to fit.

---------------

They approached Michelle's house cautiously, there was no telling what the humans might do if they found out he had brought back-up.

Once again the street was quiet. Granted it was the early hours of the morning but still, Bluestreak was beginning to doubt that anyone actually lived in the buildings.

Bluestreak's engine stalled when he saw Michelle's house…or rather, what was left of it.

"That's one hell of a fixer-upper." Sideswipe quipped as they pulled up.

"That's Michelle's house." Blue informed them.

All lightness disappeared from the Twins demeanors; they transformed swiftly and began to investigate.

Bluestreak stared at the ripped-apart house. _What had happened?_

Sunstreaker's shout brought Blue back. "Hey! We found a human."

Worry mounted in his central processor as he approached. To his relief the human wasn't hurt too badly, but to his dismay it wasn't Michelle.

"Do you recognize him?" Sunny asked. They looked down into the room the human couldn't escape from. The man looked both terrified and outraged. It was an expression they hadn't seen before.

"No. he must be the one Michelle escaped from first."

Sunstreaker leaned over and pulled the human out by the back of his shirt. "Where is she?"

Absolute terror took dominance on the man's face. "They said something sbout the desert and a ranch."

"Who are 'they'?" Bluestreak asked.

"They were big, like you, and mean. They had…wings and silver faces."

_Seekers_. Bluestreak saw that the Twins were thinking the same thing.

Sideswipe pushed his face near the humans. "What color was their armor?"

"Blue and p-purple." The man replied nervously.

"Thundercracker and Skywarp. How did they find out about Mickey?"

Bluestreak drew a blank. What were those two doing so far from their base?

"It must be the pendent." Sunny exclaimed. "The spark jewel we gave her before we left that last time."

The idea made sense. But still, "Why were they here anyway?"

"They led the attack that fragged us up so badly." Sides answered.

Anger heated Bluestreak's systems as images of the Twins' broken bodies flashed across his optics. First they had attacked his lovers in the most dishonorable way, and then they kidnap his new friend. When he found them, those seekers wouldn't know what hit them.

A black hand appeared on his shoulder. "Easy Blue, don't worry we'll get them."

Bluestreak nodded and gave the yellow mech a small smile.

He faced the human again. "Where did they take her?"

"To a ranch in the desert." The human replied swiftly.

"Let's go." Sunny returned the man to his room.

The human complained loudly as they transformed and excited the street. Bluestreak didn't know where the seekers had gone, but apparently the Twins did. Speeding along the highway Sunstreaker and Sideswipe took turns at leading their trio to the designated rendezvous.

* * *

_Polish his armor?_

Michelle scowled as she sat in the jet's cockpit. Did the robot really think that she had become his slave? Really it shouldn't be any surprise, Sunny had made her wash and wax him several times a week.

Michelle quietly began to relive the years she spent with the Twins. She had known them for three years before they had disappeared. Three years of harmless trouble-making and fun before she had reformed. Three years of unadulterated freedom that seemed to mock her now that she was the captive of the Twins' enemies. Five years of rebuilding her life only to have it ripped down by a plane who wanted shiny armor. There were some days when Michelle really hated the cards she had been dealt.

The jet suddenly tilted and Michelle found the ground getting very close, very fast. Stifling a scream, Michelle clutched at the seat and instruments as she tried to avoid dying in a fiery blaze.

"Don't touch what is not yours human." The robots voice came through some speakers. Michelle blinked and quickly released what she had assumed to be the control-stick.

Michelle's heart was still thumping erratically as she climbed out of the jet five minutes later. When her feet touched the ground she sank to her knees and prayed that she would never have to go through something so horrible ever again. Fifty yards away George looked similarly thankful to be on solid ground again. Michelle was temped to go over to him, just because he was the only human and she felt like having an ally. Any ally was better than none, even if he had pointed a gun at her.

The chance was stolen as dark hands wrapped around her. Thundercracker walked with her over to a dilapidated ranch house. He sat down and reclined against it, the wood strained under his weight. Michelle relaxed slightly when the building didn't crash. A pile of freshly laundered clothes and linens fell at her feet. Michelle looked up at her captor.

"I want my armor to shine human."

Michelle scowled and picked up a fluffy towel. There was no point in fighting a giant metal monster. You had to pick your battles. "I have a name _robot_."

The blue jet eyes her for a moment. "Michelle."

Michelle nodded triumphantly. "Thundercracker."

He thrust his leg infront of her. "Polish."

Michelle sighed; at least he had acknowledged that she had a name.

Michelle rubbed the soft peach towel over the shin guard; there were scrapes of red all over his body. With a sinking feeling, Michelle realized where that paint had come from.

"Why did you attack them?" She asked just loud enough to be heard.

"Because I hate them, and I am willing to do what is necessary to take them down…even use your _friendship_ against them." He sneered the word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

Michelle was almost afraid to ask. "How?"

A nasty smile curved his lips and he proceeded to outline her role in the upcoming confrontation.

Michelle's heart sank as she saw that what she had to do would probably hurt the Twins horribly. _I hope they're strong enough._

"And if you don't cooperate," Thundercracker's smile widened. "we'll kill the male."

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**Done! More to come...but only if you review.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi. Before you throw things at me for being so late can I apologise?**

**I'm so sorry for not updating sooner but I couldn't bring myself to be mean to the Twins. Eventually I knew I had to post something so here it is, finally written.**

**Thank you to those who reviewed. I think you're all wonderful :)**

**I would like to thank **_flamingmarsh_**. Your ideas have promted me to write. So this is for you. **

**I don't own Transformers

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Michelle was dreaming of a comfy mattress and a soft pillow. She rolled, happily sinking into the warmth of the bed.

Suddenly the softness turned hard and bumpy, the comfortable warmth turned to scorching heat.

Pulling herself out of sleep, Michelle found herself pressed against a large hinge. She quickly stood and climbed across the roof, away from the burning sensation.

At a safe distance, Michelle saw that after rolling off her makeshift bed of towels and clothes she had ended up pressed against Thundercracker's wing joint. The heat had come from a vent in the blue robot's back

_Too bad the bed was a dream…it must be bad when you have to dream of sleep to get any._Michelle sulked silently as she packed up her bedding. She had needed sleep after buffing the Decepticon's armor for over two hours. Her arms ached and she now knew too much about how a seeker was put together. There were so many panels and joints.

"You are awake human, good. The Autobrats will be here soon."

Michelle looked up at the horizon.

_Bluestreak. If you're coming now__, does that mean you got the pendent to Ratchet in time_?

Michelle climbed to the roof's peak and looked out over the desert for a sign of her would-be rescuers. The desert stretched unmarred by civilization for miles all around her. Nothing broke the monotony of sand, cactus and rocks.

Sighting the ladder she had found in a shed, Michelle climbed off the roof and made her way to the ranch's large kitchen. The place was dusty and smelled a lot like dead animals but at least here she could hide from the Decepticon's gaze. She walked slowly around the benches. A vague glance at the floor showed that she had worn a track into the dirty wooden floor.

A muffled sound caught her attention…it was coming from the pantry.

"Hello?...who's there?"

The door scraped as it opened. George came out looking very dirty and very tired. "Michelle. Are you okay?"

"As good as can be expected, probably better than you. What happened?"

George staggered to the island; he leaned on it heavily. "The purple one, he's evil, he makes me run and when I stop he shoots at me. I can't escape, and I can't run much further."

Michelle felt sorry for George. It was clear that he was suffering far more than she was, but there was nothing she could do for him. The Decepticons would likely kill him after the Autobots left, if they killed him before Michelle wouldn't play along.

"George, the Autobots will be here soon. If you can hold on until then you can escape with them."

"More giant robots?"

"Yes. When they get here run to them, they will help you."

"I'm beginning to hate robots."

Michelle chuckled lightly. "I've been there and bought souvenirs."

A voice thundered from outside. "Human!"

Michelle glanced at the door. "I wonder which one of us he's talking to?"

"Michelle!"

"It's me." Michelle said. "Try and get to the other end of the house, it'll be easier to get to the Autobots from there."

George nodded and retreated to the pantry again. Straightening her shoulders Michelle left the ranch house and faced her captor.

"You summoned me?"

"Yes. The Autobots will be here in a few minutes." His large hand closed around Michelle and lifted her until she was eye-level with him. "Can you act?"

"I can lie." She snarled.

"Good. Because if you fail. They all die." The blue robot smirked and returned her to the ground. "Remember, we're _friends_."

Michelle felt her heart sink as a dust plume rose in the distance. This would be a terrible betrayal, one that would break her heart and dirty her soul.

She looked up at Thundercracker. "And once this is over George and I go free?"

"Sure."

Something in the way he said that one word made Michelle not trust him even more.

When she could see their colors see arranged her face into the appropriate expression; blank yet slightly disappointed. She would have to make this as believable as possible.

Michelle just feared that the Twins would see straight through her, they knew all her tricks. Taking a deep breath she readied herself.

Very soon two Lamborghini's and a Datsun transformed infront of them. All four mechs pulled out their weapons. That's when Michelle noticed that Skywarp wasn't with them.

Bluestreak was the first to speak. "Michelle, are you okay?"

Michelle ignored him.

"Mickey!"

The angry sound that came from Michelle's throat wasn't faked. "Sideswipe, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that!?"

The red twin smiled. "I missed you too."

_Do it now. If it's clean it'll heal faster._ "Now why do you think that I missed you? I haven't even thought of you or your brother for five years." She said it casually so that it would hurt more.

The shocked and hurt look of Sideswipe's face tore at Michelle's heart. She had to consciously keep her hand from curling and betraying her. If she started to show any of the signs that she was lying, the Twins would be all over her in a moment, never mind that there was a Decepticon at her back.

In fact Sunstreaker seemed to be the only one interested in Thundercracker at all. Sideswipe was still staring at her and Bluestreak was watching the sky.

"Thundercracker, I don't care how you found her, but return Michelle and we won't turn you into scrap metal." Sunstreaker said menacingly.

Thundercracker laughed. The sound startled Michelle so much she looked up at him, in time to see his hand lower to the ground. It settled next to her.

Michelle knew what this was; it was a display of trust. If she sat on the palm it meant that she chose TC over the Twins. For a split second Michelle considered making a break for the Twins, but she sat on the palm instead.

"You've interrupted our outing Autobots." Thundercracker said smugly as Michelle was placed on his shoulder.

"Mickey what's going on?" Sunny's voice was laced with confusion.

"Oh right, you haven't been around to notice but, I've made some new friends."

Michelle ran the back of her fingers down the column of TC's neck. He tensed and she felt some satisfaction that the robot under her was uncomfortable. No one made Michelle betray those she loved and got away with it.

The looks on Sideswipe's and Sunstreaker's faces took away any good feeling she'd briefly had.

Suddenly Michelle knew that if she looked directly at either twin she would fall apart and the sham would be revealed. To keep her control in check she pressed her palm flat against the cold metal and let her eyes rove dismissingly away from the bothers.

They landed on Bluestreak, the white and grey mech had stopped watching the sky and was now watching her. Luckily her mask was still in place or she would have been found out then and there. But Bluestreak didn't know her as well as the Twins did, hopefully he would believe her lies and convince the others to go home.

She regained her control and faced the Twins again. Her voice was harsh; this needed to end now, without any unnecessary emotional pain. "What do you want? I've moved on from the little thing we had all those years ago."

"We came to help you." Sunstreaker sounded slightly confused, as if he couldn't understand why she was doing this.

_I'm doing it to save you_. Michelle ached to ease the pain from his face. Sideswipe was silent; his pain was obvious.

_Cut them down, then Blue__ can fix them_. Her voice was cold when she spoke. "I don't want your help. I never wanted your help. You were just something to amuse me until what I really wanted came along."

"But Michelle, we were friends." Sideswipe said softly.

Michelle felt her lips move into a cruel smile. "No we weren't. I was using you from the very beginning. Thundercracker is the one I want to be around, not you."

"We love you." Sunny uttered faintly.

_There was the opening. The death blow_. Heart-wrenching pain struck at Michelle's heart, nothing she had ever done in her past felt as bad as what she was doing now. Pressing her hand flat against TC's neck she said icily.

"I never loved you, either of you."

She could practically feel Thundercracker's delight at the obvious hurt her words caused the Twins.

They stared at her in shock. Anguish was plastered on their faces; it shot straight to her heart.

Michelle felt like she was about to tear into two.

She had thought that so many years away from them would have dulled her feelings for the duo. But their pain reached out to her, begging her to take back her cruel words. Instead she kept her mask in place and sent them cold looks. They would never know she was saving them, they would never know that Skywarp was waiting in the clouds for a chance to destroy them.

A sudden thought pushed to the front of Michelle's mind. George.

Hoping that Bluestreak was still paying attention to her she looked at him. He was standing next to Sideswipe, who had turned away from her. His accusatory stare met hers.

With a quick glance at Sunstreaker, who was staring dazedly into nothing, she let her mask fall from her eyes. All her grief and regret spilled out of her eyes. Bluestreak's expression changed to one of concern. Before he could reveal her slip to Thundercracker she hardened her face again and shot a pointed look at the ranch-house. If anyone could save George now it was Blue. He was the only one not clouded by grief.

Hoping he understood her gesture she returned to her callous demeanor. With a sneer raising one side of her lip she sent the Twins a disgusted look.

"You're pathetic. I can't stand to look at you." She turned her head away in time to see George dart out from the building. Looking sharply at Bluestreak she saw that he had noticed the human.

The trouble was, so had Thundercracker.

The Decepticon tensed under her feet. Michelle quickly dropped to her knees and dragged at a wire in TC's shoulder. The mech froze and George was quickly gathered into Bluestreak's hands. Blue must have realized it was dangerous to remain because he ushered the Twins to transform and they disappeared in a cloud of dust.

Michelle released her hold on the cable, knowing that she would taste the Decepticon's wrath. Michelle closed her eyes and prayed for a quick end as a large hand closed around her.

* * *

**There. What did you think?**

**Please review. I'll try not to be so late again.**


	10. Chapter 10

**o.O **

**I can't believe this has a tenth chapter. I originally meant for this to be only a couple. But you all rock so much I didn't want to give you up :)**

**Okay, so this chapter is short but more will follow as soon as possible. There may be some space in between posts because I now have a job which requires me to work twelve hour days. I am so tired when I finally get home I just want to drop into bed with an iv of food in my arm.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed. You are awesome!**

**OSR4ever**: I hate to say it but them being friends may take some time...Sorry

**jazztransformsme**: I adore your penname:) Thank you for reviewing them all. It was very hard to write the chapter too. Michelle doesn't deserve all the crap I'm going to do to her.

**Enjoy and please forgive me if I don't post for a while.

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**

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker tore through sand and rock to get away from the source of their distress. The link between their sparks flowed with pain.

_What had happened to Mickey?_ The question hung between them, weighing down their spirits. They were only just aware that Bluestreak followed them; the human presence hadn't even been computed yet.

They skidded to a halt and transformed on a plateau several miles from civilization.

Sideswipe looked at his brother. "What happened? Why did Mickey say that?"

Sunstreaker shook his head. "I don't know. But I think she meant it?"

"Why?" Sides' optics were wide.

"Her hands weren't clenched."

They were silent as they processed the situation.

"So everything she ever said and did was a lie?"

Sunny nodded sadly.

"You can't really believe that!" Bluestreak's voice broke through their depression.

Grief turned to anger in Sunstreaker's optics. "What do you know Blue? You only met her yesterday! We've known her for years, so I think that we can read her better than you. This isn't your business, we didn't ask you to come!"

Sunstreaker turned his back to the shocked Datsun; he'd lost his temper with many of the Autobots but never Bluestreak. The faithful grey and white mech was always the one soothing bruised prides after a raging Sunstreaker had calmed down.

Sideswipe watched silently as his brother worked up his ire, he was still distressed that Michelle had broken him down to the level of a self-doubting sparkling with a few effective words. Sides moved to Sunny's shoulder as he blasted a stunned Bluestreak with angry words. Their lover seemed to absorb the verbal abuse with remarkable dignity, far more than any of Sunstreaker's other victims.

Unable to listen to his brother scream any more, Sideswipe placed a hand on Sunstreaker's shoulder and sent all the calm he could manage through their bond.

The yellow twin quickly shut up as he felt Sideswipe's hurt and reassurance. Off-lining his optics he struggled with the roiling pain and anger Michelle's desertion had triggered inside him.

"What I wanted to say was that we knew Michelle far better than you did." Sunny said with slow forcefulness. "So don't tell us what to think when only we know how to tell if she's lying or not...Go back to base, we need to be alone."

Without letting Bluestreak reply the Twins transformed and left the Datsun in a cloud of sand and dust.

"But she still loves you." Blue said quietly to their retreating forms.

* * *

The cold metal fingers closed over Michelle's body and she felt her feet leave the Decepticons shoulder.

"Why did you stop me human?"

She kept her eyes shut and tried to remain calm as her heart thundered in panic.

"I knew that you would kill George after I helped you."

"And you think I won't kill you now?"

"I know you will, that was why I helped him escape. Better only one than two."

Thundercracker looked at her curiously. "You're not afraid to die human?"

"I've got nothing left to live for." Michelle replied as a surge of guilt and sadness gripped her.

It was true. Her home was destroyed, her housemates were frauds, her parents didn't care what happened to her and the two beings she loved most in the world thought she had betrayed them. Her eyes began to sting as tears built up behind them.

Michelle pulled her arms out of the robot's clasp and rubbed at her cheeks, she refused to give Thundercracker the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

Skywarp landed as Michelle wiped away her stray tears.

"Why are we letting them escape?"

"They need time to dwell on their loss, we have to let it consume them. Only then will they fall like sparklings at our feet."

Michelle listened with growing horror as she comprehended what the Decepticons planned to do. TC and Skywarp were going to destroy the Twins while they were still reeling from Michelle's abuse.

Michelle felt the need to vomit as she realized that what she had done would be the deciding factor on how the Twins reacted to the next attack.

"You bastards!" She screamed as she fought back the sick feeling.

Two pairs of cold red optics looked down at her.

"How can you be so cruel! They haven't done anything to you and you want to break them so that they can't be repaired."

"That reminds me. The Autobots took my human." Skywarp said disgruntled. "I want it back. I didn't get to kill it."

An evil smirk crossed Thundercracker's face and Michelle felt cold dread replaced to nausea in her stomach. "Have mine. If you want to kill her make sure it's after the Autobrats are deactivated. I want her to watch while we rip them to pieces."

Michelle found herself flying through the air towards Skywarp. TC had thrown her as though she was a toy.

Skywarp's cold hands caught her roughly, his crimson optics gleamed. Michelle was certain that she wouldn't survive whatever Skywarp had planned. She prayed that her end would come before the jets set off to kill the Twins, she didn't want to see that.

* * *

**Yes it was short. I apologize. **

**Please review, they make me write more...especially when I'm awake. **

**TammyCat**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello. I'm back. I have a three-day weekend now and I love it, especially since I get paid on Monday even though I'm not at work :)**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'm so glad that it made some of you sad. I know that might sound a little wierd, but it just means that I managed to successfully convey the feeling I wanted to.**

**Enjoy! ****

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**Bluestreak stared at the settling dust with frustration. How was he supposed to get the Twins to believe that Michelle still loved them? 

The human next to him collapsed in the sand and sighed happily. Blue looked down and recognized the man as the one who had held a gun to Michelle's head. Tamping down on his anger, he asked. "Did Michelle say anything to you about the Twins?"

The human opened his eyes. "No, not once in the entire time that we lived together did she ever mention that she knew you guys."

"Then how did you find out about us and her?"

"The information came from a gang leader. She keeps us informed about the darker side of society."

"Who wanted to find us so badly that they would ask a criminal?"

"I work for the FBI." George stated proudly.

If he had wanted Bluestreak to be impressed he saw sorely mistaken. Blue merely looked down him indifferently.

"How did you escape from the Decepticons?"

"Michelle hid me. She said that you would help me if I got far enough away from them."

"Did it seem like they were friends?"

"I wouldn't say friends. She saved Brandon's and my life. Those other two were about to kill us and she made a deal."

Bluestreak's interest perked up. "What kind of deal?"

"I don't know. I was too busy being crushed to hear the details."

Blue nodded thoughtfully. If Michelle had made a deal with Thundercracker and Skywarp then she would be in danger now, especially since their other hostage had escaped. Images of a bloody and mangled body danced over his optics. It was not a pretty sight, it was just as horrifying as seeing the Twins so fragged up in the Medbay.

"We have to do something or Michelle won't have a chance."

"Like what?"

Bluestreak looked down at George in frustration. "Aren't you part of some human intelligence thing?"

An embarrassed expression passed over the man's face. "This was out first under-cover mission."

Blue suppressed a sigh and mentally cursed inexperienced soldiers. "We'll find the Twins and try to talk them around. I just hope they'll listen."

* * *

Sideswipe paced along the plateau's edge, his worrisome footsteps had begun to weaken the rocky ledge.

"What if she meant everything she said? Her hand wasn't closed and Thundercracker didn't kill her…but he could have tricked her into saying those things."

Sunstreaker watched sadly as his brother talked to himself. He wasn't sure if it was Michelle's innocence or guilt that Side's was trying to convince himself of. Either way the monologue was only digging the more emotional twin into a grief-stricken hole.

"Stop it Side's. You're only going to make it worse."

Sideswipe stopped pacing, spark-broken optics turned to his. "I thought she loved us."

Sunny felt his brother's anguish through their bond and pulled him close. "I'm sure that she would have if she had been open to us."

"What do we do now?"

"We find Blue and go back to base." Sunny felt him spark ache as he said it.

"We're leaving Michelle behind?"

"She made her choice, we can't help her anymore." Sunstreaker could hear the reluctance in his own voice. He felt a twinge of pain as Sideswipe lowered his head, it didn't feel right that they were leaving Michelle behind even though she had sided with the Decepticons.

"Where do you think Blue is?" Sideswipe asked suddenly as he looked out over the desert.

"Where we left him I suppose."

"You were fairly hard on him."

"I know. I'll have to make it up to him later."

Sideswipe's face lit up with a predatory grin. "Maybe I owe him an apology too."

Sunstreaker laughed, the red twins' comment lifted some of their grief. "Maybe you do. I just hope he accepts us back. He did save our lives by getting Michelle to give back the spark jewel."

A look of thoughtful confusion passed over Sideswipe's face. "If Michelle is working with the Decepticons, she'd want us deactivated, right? Then why did she help Bluestreak save us when she doesn't care about us?"

Both twins remained silent as they pondered Sideswipe's question.

A soft rumble a while later heralded the arrival of their third member.

"Looks like we don't have to go searching for him." Sunny smirked.

The grey and white Datsun pulled up next to them, ejected its passenger and transformed.

The trio looked at each other uncertainly before Sideswipe smiled sadly and glomped Bluestreak. Shock turned to a smile on the gunner's face as he returned the hug.

"Who's that?" Sunstreaker asked at length, pointing to the human.

"His name's George. He's Michelle's other room-mate. Skywarp was using him as target practice."

"Then why isn't he dead?"

"Maybe Skywarp's aim has gotten worse." Side's suggested.

"Michelle made a deal with the other robots to save mine and my partner's life." George replied.

"I'm guessing that your partner is the human we left in the house."

George frowned. "You left him in the house? That thing's a safety hazard."

"What deal?" Sunny demanded, getting them back on track.

"I don't know. I was being crushed."

Sideswipe looked somberly into Sunstreaker's optics. "If she made a deal that spared two lives, she'll be paying for it now. Twice as much now that he's escaped…We have to go back. If the human's right, then we can't waste anymore time. If she made a deal with the Decepticons, they could easily have been holding his life over her head as leverage. She might still love us."

"She does." Bluestreak exclaimed. Both twins looked at him. "She never stopped loving you, even after you left her five years ago."

Hope and a fierce resolve settled on the twins' faces, Sunstreaker's engine revved. "Let's roll."

In unison the three Autobots transformed and raced towards the Decepticons ranch.

* * *

Michelle huddled in a dark corner. It was the same corner in the pantry where George had tried to hide from the Decepticons.

Every instinct within her told Michelle that she would soon be dead. There was no way that she could continue to evade Skywarp's sadistic intentions. He had probably already mapped out her torture and subsequent death and was no doubt looking for her so that they could enact it.

Michelle tensed as thunderous footsteps shook the house around her. With quick whispers she prayed that the jet didn't find her.

The ground shuddered and Michelle relaxed, the robot had just taken to the air. Breathing a sigh of relief, she tried to ease her muscles enough for her to sleep. It was difficult since the floor and wall were hard and rough and every noise made her jump with fear.

Ten minutes later and Michelle was wishing that she had dug a hole and hidden in it. Skywarp's cold red optics stared down at her. Sad and defeated, Michelle didn't fight as the purple jet pulled her out of the now-ruined ranch house. The hard metal fingers squeezed her slightly and Michelle's lungs labored for air.

A dark satisfaction gleamed in Skywarp's optics, whatever he had planned would definitely be worse than any pain she had ever suffered before. Even worse than when her former gang leader had tried to kill her with a baseball bat.

The Twins had saved her then.

They wouldn't be saving her now.

Cursing herself for following the Decepticon's plan Michelle stared at the horizon as she struggled to breathe. There would be no one coming to her aid this time, and it was all her fault.

The metal hand tightened and Michelle screamed as she was crushed. As the pain filled her senses she hoped that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were alive, safe, and healing.

Skywarp apparently didn't like the sound Michelle was making because he suddenly threw her. Opening her eyes, Michelle saw the ground moving very fast past her and a cliff wall approaching just as quickly.

She had only enough time to shut her eyes and think '_This is going to hurt_.' before she slammed into something hard and unforgiving, yet she was still alive. The enormous amount of pain she was in confirmed that.

Looking up through her pain bleared eyes, she saw TC's optics glowing at her.

"Skywarp, how many times do I have to tell you; humans break easily and we need this one for the next stage. Be more careful."

Thundercracker tossed her back to the purple seeker. Michelle was deftly caught, Skywarp frowned slightly.

_He's probably just unhappy that I'm still alive_. She though wryly. She was wrong.

"Hey TC, we've got company."

Michelle twisted in the large hand. He was right. There was a dust cloud rising in the distance.

"They've figured it out." Skywarp said as the cloud came closer. "The other human is with them."

Michelle stared in confusion. Were they returning because they didn't believe her act or did they just want revenge for the pain she had caused? Knowing them, it was probably revenge.

"I'm not ready to end this game just yet. The Autobrat Twins still have to watch the female die."

Cold dread settled in Michelle's stomach as the robots began communicating in a language unknown to her. To stop her from listening in, she guessed, but she picked up one thing from the gesture they used and the tone of their words.

They were going to attack the Twins.

Michelle struggled fruitlessly in the steel grasp, there was no way she could alert the Twins and Bluestreak in time to stop them being caught by the attack. Clutching the smooth metal she felt her heart break totally as her complete failure to save her beloved Twins wrapped around her.

* * *

**Sorry about the delay and shortness of this piece.**

**The end is coming so please review so I can make it a good one and not kill everyone off in a blaze of glory.**

**TammyCat**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, sorry it took so long but I really liked writing this one. It's the longest chapter I've written for this story so far. **

**Thank you so much for the reviews. They are awesome :)**

**Enjoy!! 

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**

As the Jets discussed their plans for, what was most likely, the Autobots demise Michelle found herself once again rocketing skyward. Still clasped in Skywarp's fist, she tried to protect herself from the powerful rush of air. When she finally uncovered her eyes Michelle almost lost what was left in her stomach, which wouldn't have been much since she hadn't eaten in over 24 hours.

Michelle looked down at the match-box sized cars that were the Autobots. They were too far away for her to call out to them but she felt comforted by their appearance. Even if they had come to destroy her.

The air around her continued to cool as the seekers rose. Michelle started to shiver as her body was exposed to the chill temperature, at the same time her breathing became more labored. They stopped moving when the Autobots were not much more than the size of ants.

"Time for the last stage of our plan. We may have had to skip parts three and four, but the results will be the same. Hand me the human."

Michelle felt that sick sensation again as Skywarp threw her at Thundercracker. She landed hard on TC's palm. He looked down at her.

"You're going to say and do the same things you said and did earlier."

"No."

"No? If you don't we'll kill you."

"You're going to kill me anyway, so no."

Thundercracker emitted a noise that sounded similar to a frustrated growl. "If you do what I want you to, your death will be quick and relatively painless. If you disobey me you will suffer, and I will make sure the Autobrats are watching. Do you want that?"

"Don't you dare hurt them."

"What happens to them is beyond your control, but would you prefer them to watch you go squish?" The hand tightened around her. "Or rip?"

Michelle's shaking was no longer just from the cold. "Rip?"

"How else did you think we were going to kill you? Imagine the pain your Autobots will feel when they watch you get ripped limb from limb." Thundercracker looked more than happy to follow that plan.

"They'd stop you." She said shakily.

"Not while you were in my hands. You see, I know how the Autobots think. No matter what, they'll do nothing if there's a chance that their actions might cause you greater pain."

Michelle paled. She knew that what he said was true and that he would like nothing more than to torment them like that. He'd take the greatest pleasure in torturing her infront of them, especially when they wouldn't do anything that would further risk her life.

"You're a sick bastard." She growled.

TC just smiled, he knew he was going to win. "Do you remember what you have to say?"

"I hate you, I always will." She spat venomously. "You don't deserve to share the same universe, let alone the same planet as the Autobots. I hope you die writhing in pain."

"That's good. The only change I would make would be replacing Autobot with Decepticon."

"You can shove your opinions up whatever passes as an asshole for you guys."

Thundercracker's optics narrowed dangerously and Michelle might have feared that she had gone too far, but she was going to die soon anyway so where was the harm in being a smart-ass to her captor.

"You walk a thin line human. Be very careful with what you say."

"I'm going to die today, you assured me that. So I'll say whatever I god-damn want. You can't stop me."

Maybe it was the cold messing with her brain, or maybe it was the thinner atmosphere, but Michelle felt much like she had when she was sixteen; bold, rude and arrogant.

Thundercracker sneered down at her before falling into a steep dive. Michelle's lapse into hauteur dispelled quickly as they plummeted towards the ground. When they stopped they must have been only fifty feet above the ruined ranch, but to Michelle it looked far further.

Thundercracker, Michelle and Skywarp remained in the air as the trio of Autobots approached. Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Bluestreak skidded to a halt with a shower of sand and dust. They transformed and George hid behind Blue's ankle.

Sunstreaker didn't waste time on pleasantries. "Put her down Thundercracker."

"No, I don't think I will. She likes being here with us. We're good friends." 

"We know you made her lie to us."

"And who told you that? The human? You've already been tricked by one human, what makes you think this one would be any different?"

"Stop talking, it won't work. We know she's still one of us."

The ridge above Thundercracker's optic rose disdainfully as he gazed at the Twins. His grip on Michelle tightened, she understood what he wanted. She wasn't to speak, at all.

She shot him a furious glare, no longer caring who saw the hostility between them. She _was_ still one of the Autobots. She even had the mark to prove it.

The Twins hadn't missed the exchange between Michelle and Thundercracker. Sideswipe grinned dangerously and Sunstreaker looked positively devilish.

"She's already told you she's with us. She shouldn't have to tell you again." Thundercracker sneered.

"But we want her to say it again." 

Sideswipe looked straight at her and Michelle felt her heart clench as her anger faded. There was no way that she could let them watch as she was ripped to pieces. She had to play by TC's rules to keep the Twins from being hurt.

"I'll say this only once. Go, and don't come back."

Michelle expected anger or pain to appear on the red twin's face, instead a brilliant grin lifted his lips. It was similar to the ones he used to give her back before they had left. It warmed her heart before sending shivers down her spine. 

"You heard her. Go or something bad will happen." Skywarp taunted.

"Are you threatening us?" Sunstreaker growled.

Michelle could tell that he was itching for a reason to fight. Her heart sped up as she pictured the battle. Thundercracker would kill her and then turn on the Twins. Bluestreak wouldn't be able to help because Skywarp would have already shot him before attacking Sideswipe, leaving Sunstreaker with the mixed anguish of seeing all three of them killed before he was either killed or tortured by the seekers.

Michelle's breathing sped up as her imagination conjured that horrible image. She couldn't let that happen. They had to be warned.

"Go!" She screamed, the sudden volume caused everyone to looked at her. "You have to leave now! I don't want you to get hurt."

"That's enough for me, what about you?" Sunstreaker asked still facing Michelle.

"She had me at 'go'."

The smiles on their faces were identical, both promised revenge and pain. Michelle felt her spirit soar as her heart dropped. They didn't believe that she hated them and they were about to fight, and from the looks on their faces, someone was going to die. And judging by the tension in Thundercracker's hand, that someone would be her.

"You failed."

Every cell in Michelle's body went ice cold as the soft words passed over the blue Decepticons lips. She felt the sudden urge to struggle and yell and fight. She was no longer willing to die quietly, not now that she could fix things with Sunny and Sides.

Her cry for help turned into a strangled wheeze as TC crushed her.

* * *

Bluestreak had been monitoring Michelle throughout the exchange. Now he leapt into action as her eyes widened and her heart-beat accelerated. Thundercracker was slowly squeezing Michelle to death.

Moving swiftly past Sideswipe, Blue raced for the Decepticon. He couldn't allow Michelle to be killed, especially since the Twins were willing to fight, and possibly die, for her.

He was ten feet away from Thundercracker when a laser shot caught him across the chest. Spinning as he fell Bluestreak saw Skywarp grinning evilly as smoke rose from his gun.

* * *

Shock spread through Sunstreaker's circuitry as Bluestreak collapsed onto the ground. Shock was quickly replaced by anger. How dare Skywarp attack his Bluestreak? The seeker was going down.

Skywarp must have realized that he had evoked Sunstreaker's ire, because he was now rocketing into the clouds. But a retreating enemy had never stopped Sunny before. Dashing forward he grabbed Bluestreak's high-powered long-range rifle. 

A dull crash to the side told Sunstreaker that Sideswipe had jumped Thundercracker and was probably either turning him into scrap metal or rescuing Michelle. Doing one before the other would be better. He relayed that thought to his brother.

'_No shit Sunshine. Michelle's safe, TC threw her as soon as he saw me coming so I had to get her before I could chase him.'_

'_Chase him where?'_

'_If you move your sights to the right, you'll see.'_

Following Sideswipe's instruction Sunstreaker found himself staring at the aft-end of his brother and Thundercracker. Sideswipe had jumped on the seeker just as he had started gaining height.

'_Damn it Sides! I'm trying to shoot Skywarp and you go and shove your aft in my way. Pull him to the side.'_

Through the telescope Sunny watched as the pair struggled. Thundercracker's thrusters suddenly stalled and the duo began to fall. Refocusing on his original target, Sunstreaker lined up the shot and fired several times. At least one of them was bound to hit.

Dropping the gun to the ground Sunny bent over the unmoving form of his lover and searched for a energy signal. Nothing.

Pain ripped through Sunny as he blocked his discovery from Sideswipe. This was too much. Not only had the seekers kidnapped and blackmailed his friend but now they had destroyed any sort of future he and Sideswipe might have had with Blue.

Sunstreaker was relieved as the anguish turned into cold rage. Fury was an emotion he was used to, he knew how to use it. The familiar emotion cleared his head and allowed him to plan his assault with detachment. 

He was cold, brutal, a killing machine.

It was this cold rage that had caused most of the Autobots to avoid getting him angry. When he was in this state the only thing that could calm him was Sideswipe or Bluestreak. One was in the air, the other was…gone.

When a loud crash reached his audios Sunstreaker smiled. Whoever had just landed wouldn't be getting up for a long, long time after he'd finished with them.

Stalking to the crash-sight Sunstreaker's smiled turned nasty as he saw Skywarp dragging himself out of the crater. Revenge was going to be fun.

* * *

Michelle hit the ground hard on her side. Sideswipe hadn't been able to do much more than slow her down as the ground approached.

Rolling onto her back she saw Sideswipe grab hold of Thundercracker's waist as he rose into the air. Higher up Skywarp tried to get out of weapons range. A sharp movement caught her eye and Michelle watched with fascination as Thundercracker and Sideswipe seemed to hover for a moment before plummeting towards Earth.

_What had started this fight?_ Her pain infused brain asked. The scene had been tense, yes, but what had happened? Memories flooded her mind. _Bluestreak_!

Michelle struggled to her feet, pain lanced up her side. Ignoring it she hurried to the fallen warrior. Collapsing in the sand next to his head, Michelle searched his face for any signs of life.

_He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead_. Her mind chanted as she willed light to appear in the dark optics. Nothing happened.

Michelle felt tears sting at the backs of her eyes but she fought them. How could she have let this happen? If she had just done what Thundercracker had said Bluestreak would still be alive.

No wait, if she had said no to the Twins when she had first met them they wouldn't have had to go through this at all.

It was all her fault. A hollow void appeared in Michelle's chest. It was all her fault that Bluestreak was gone. It was her fault that the Twins would now suffer the pain of his loss. All because she had thought she was so cool all those years ago. If she had known what that one word would lead to, she would never have uttered it.

Tears threatened to spill as Michelle climbed onto Bluestreak's chest. She lightly traced the lines of his paintwork and the Autobot crest, across it ran a dark furrow caused by Skywarp's attack. The colors seemed slightly dulled, as though the body knew that Bluestreak wouldn't come back. No more smiles or laughter or insatiable talking. Blue was gone, and it was her fault. Michelle hadn't noticed the wet streaks on her face until she tried to wipe them away. Unable to stop herself Michelle broke down into racking sobs. She leaned on the rounded body and cried. Heart aching as she remembered how she had met him and how nice he had been. True, she had known him for less than two days but he had been a better friend than many of her other ones.

"Michelle?"

She hiccupped as she turned. George stood next to Blue's head, there was a soft look in his eyes. She knew she should be angry with him for all the trouble he had put her through but all she wanted right now was someone to hold. She slid off Bluestreak's chest, wrapped her arms around George's neck and cried into his dirty shirt.

She was so caught up in her grief that she didn't even notice the large head moving or the black hands twitching. But she did hear his moan. Wrenching out of George's arms she stared into the still dark optics.

_Come on Blue. Wake up, I know you can. Please Blue._

Another soft moan came from the mech's throat. Michelle's heart lurched. Soft blue light filled the optic lenses and Michelle leapt back onto his chest. She watched avidly as Bluestreak slowly regained consciousness.

"Michelle? Are you all right?"

Michelle scrubbed at the stains on her cheeks. "Blue, don't ever do that again. I thought you were dead."

A large hand curled around her back and Michelle accepted the hug happily. Now all she had to do was save the Twins and everything would be okay. Right?

"Come on Bluestreak. We've got to help the boys."

Bluestreak shook his head and sat up.

"Um, there's a really big dent in the back of your head." George said and pointed to Blue's helmet.

"That's probably why I feel like I was hit by Motormaster."

Michelle breathed a sigh of relief as Bluestreak started to stand. It was obvious that his fall had left him a bit dazed but not too much worse for wear. A quick look down showed that his head had collided with a very large rock.

"Blue, we have to find the others, I think Sunny thinks you're dead." Michelle tugged at one of his fingers. He nodded and started walking.

The screech of protesting metal came from a large crater to their left. They climbed the rise and found Sunstreaker perched on top of Skywarp, randomly ripping pieces of armor off his body, every now and then he would slam his fist into the purple seekers face. Skywarp thrashed and writhed as he tried to stop the furious Autobot. It wasn't working.

* * *

Bluestreak placed Michelle on the ground before climbing into the crater. 

"Sunstreaker." He called out warily. The golden head jerked up.

He'd seen Sunny angry before, even in one of his rages but this Sunstreaker was terrifying. His optics were ice blue and unfocused, his face twisted into a mask of fury and pain.

"Sunny, I think Skywarp has had enough." Blue didn't really believe that, but the look of utter panic on the seekers face was enough for Bluestreak to want to get Sunstreaker away from him.

"Blue?" Sunny's ice-like optics were suddenly suffused with warmth and they returned to their normal cerulean coloring. He drew back his fist and knocked Skywarp unconscious then stood up and ran to him.

One moment Bluestreak was smiling tiredly, and the next he was wrapped up in Sunstreaker's arms while very talented lips pressed against his. Bluestreak had been expecting Sunstreaker's relief but not his passion. Of course he had never stopped Sunny from deactivating a Decepticon before.

Pulling away from his golden lover Bluestreak led him back to the open field. He was about to reunite Sunstreaker and Michelle when something large and heavy slammed into the ground near them, showering them with dirt and sand. 

* * *

The last thing Sideswipe had needed while trying to stop from falling to his death was a wave of desire. But that was exactly what he got, through his spark-link with Sunstreaker. The sudden overwhelming need to hold onto something and not let go was a benefit to his situation. The same urge to kiss what was infront of his face was not.

In fact a very startled Thundercracker had stopped trying to fix his faltering thrusters and they had both plummeted to Earth.

Sand and debris rained down around them as Sideswipe and Thundercracker tried to gain an advantage over the other, while trying to get to their weapons. This was very hard since they were a jumble of limbs.

Eventually Sides gained the upper hand and wrestled TC to the ground. A hard kick to his back sent Sideswipe flying off the seeker. Jumping to his feet he quickly caught the jet and proceeded to beat the scrap out of him.

The fight ended only when Sideswipe and Thundercracker had their guns pressed against each others heads. They looked only at each other.

"Why are you going to kill yourself to protect the human?"

"Because she's my friend and I care for her."

"You're such a fool Autobot, to give your life for a being so inferior to you."

"I'm not the one who's going to die. You're facing three Autobots alone. Skywarp is down and you have very little ammo left."

Thundercracker seemed to consider his options for a moment. "I think I'll take my chances."

* * *

Suddenly his arm swung around and aimed at Michelle. Time slowed as they saw the laser-fire leave the barrel. Michelle's whole life passed through her head. All of her regrets and lies came to the forefront and she hoped that everyone would forgive her when she was gone. The only redeeming thought she had was that Bluestreak and the Twins would be together now and they knew that she loved them.

Bracing for pain, her head seemed to explode as the shot reached her.

**There, we're very close to the end now. maybe one or two more to go.**

**Please review.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi, Long time no see, I know.**

**Lots of hugs to my reviewers. You make this so much more than a brain fart :)**

**Enjoy!!**

* * *

Sunstreaker raced through the base, shoving mechs asides as he plowed passed. Behind him running carefully was Sideswipe. Sideswipe carried a non-responsive Michelle.

Sunstreaker continued to clear a path to the medbay when Sides burst into the hallway. He was running, hands cradling Michelle against his chest. Sunny's spark burned as he caught sight of the bloody fragile body.

A hand clamped down on his shoulder. Turning, he looked straight into Prowl's stern visage.

"Sunstreaker, what are you doing?"

"Clearing a path. Now, Prowl, if you would move…"

"Sunstreaker, Prime warned you and Sideswipe about harassing the others."

"Prowl I really don't have time for this." Sunny stressed as he sensed Sideswipe getting closer.

"If you do not stop whatever you and your brother are planning, I'll send you to the brig."

Sideswipe was halfway down the hall and Sunny began to feel desperate. With a soft growl he grabbed the tactician's shoulders and shoved him towards a door. Quickly pushing the release panel, he opened the door and pushed Prowl inside, the door slid closed with a click.

Dismissing the knowledge that Prowl would be pissed and that he would almost definitely be spending some time in the brig, Sunstreaker dashed along the corridor.

Mechs hurried out of his way as he shouted and pushed a clear path to the medbay. Behind him Sideswipe's feet clanked heavily as he ran.

Sunstreaker reached the medbay and slammed the door open.

"Ratchet!"

The medic snapped his head up, taking one look at him and scowling. "What have you done now? Where's Sideswipe?"

The red twin charged into the room, his hands still clutched to his chest.

"You're both still functional, so why are you here?"

Sideswipe vented air heavily as he held out his hands, opening the protective cocoon. Michelle lay limply on his palms, he skin stained dark red with blood and her legs scorched like charcoal.

"Help." Sides whispered.

Ratchet took one look at the battered body and let out a string of violent profanities before he glared at the Twins.

"This is the human you gave a spark jewel to?"

They nodded. Ratchet cursed again as he took her from Sideswipe.

"I'll see what I can do. First-Aid, get Bluestreak and escort the Twins to the rec room, then get Wheeljack." He turned away.

"Wait! We want to know what's happening. Can you save her?" Sunstreaker demanded as First-Aid started to pull him out of the medbay.

"I'll let you know when I'm done. Now get out of here before I weld your afts to your bunks."

The Twins continued to protest as they were led out and away. First-Aid left then in a concerned Jazz's care and hurried off to find Wheeljack.

Jazz pulled them into the rec room and sat them on a couch before going hunting for some high-grade. Sunstreaker clenched his hands; he hated knowing that he couldn't do anything to help Michelle. He hated the feeling of failure that followed the knowledge. In fact he hated sitting in the rec room doing nothing while Michelle fought for her life in Ratchet's lab. He would much prefer to be working out his emotions on an easel…or a minibot.

A glance at his brother showed that Sideswipe was feeling as restless and useless as he was. Sides was probably itching to prank someone, just for something to do.

Bluestreak skidded into the rec room, transformed and joined them. Sunny felt a surge of happiness and love that he shared with Sideswipe. If things had gone differently they might have lost Bluestreak as well.

No, not as well. He couldn't let himself think that Michelle wasn't going to make it. Even if she had looked horrifically pale beneath all that blood. No, Ratchet wouldn't let her die.

Finally, unable to stand doing nothing, Sunstreaker stood up and stalked to the training room, maybe there he'd find someone to vent his frustration on.

The training room was empty, but not for long. Sideswipe appeared behind him, along with Bluestreak and Jazz.

"I'm sick of doing nothing." Sunstreaker said roughly.

"You can' do anythin' for her." Jazz pointed out.

"I know and that's what irritates me." Sunny growled and slammed his fist into the wall.

"You need to vent. I'm here." Jazz smiled and tensed.

Sunstreaker grinned and lunged at the smaller mech.

* * *

Sideswipe watched as his brother tried to force the pain and fear out of his spark with physical activity. Jazz was doing his best to keep the golden warriors attention occupied, but there was only so much a good beating would do.

As it was he himself was eyeing the doorways. Which one would be best to put a bucket of paint above? Who was the most entertaining to prank?

His answer walked in the door looking furious.

"Sunstreaker!"

Jazz and Sunny stopped wrestling. Sideswipe watched the extremely angry Prowl march across the room and glare down at his brother. Softly menacing words were exchanged and Sunstreaker pulled himself to his feet and preceded Prowl out of the training room. Jazz appeared at Sideswipes side.

"What was that? Prowl looked angry." Bluestreak asked when the doors shut.

"Sunflower pushed Prowl into a supply closet when the Twins came barreling through here." Jazz snickered. "I'm surprised it took Prowl this long to send Sunny to the brig."

"Let's just hope he doesn't do anything stupid while he's in there." Sides said flatly while sending a wave of amusement over his connection to Sunstreaker. His reply was one of anticipatory boredom.

* * *

Sunny bounded into the rec room five hours later. A quick sweep showed that Sideswipe and Bluestreak had commandeered the couch closest to the hall leading to the medbay. Their optics glued to the doorway, obviously still waiting for Ratchet or First-Aid to appear. Sunny flopped down in between the two.

"Any news?"

Sideswipe frowned. "First-Aid came out, he didn't say anything but he didn't look happy."

"Why did he come out if he wasn't going to say anything?"

"He was getting energon for Ratchet, he's been in there for hours." Blue replied.

Sunny frowned, Ratchet having energon delivered to the medbay wasn't a good sign. It usually meant that he would be in there for a long time. The though both cheered and disheartened Sunstreaker.

The trio sat in silence until Sideswipe recalled where Sunstreaker had been for the last five hours.

"How was brig duty?"

"As fun as Prowl usually makes it."

Sideswipe and Bluestreak snickered at Sunny's put-upon expression. They talked for a while longer, only inane chatter because all three minds were thinking of the soft damaged body in the medbay.

Ten hours later and they were still in the same position. Sunstreaker was beginning to get edgy again but fought the desire to punch a mini-bot in the face-plates for fear that he would be sent back to the brig and miss any developments.

Sideswipe in turn was trying to occupy his mind with plans for new pranks to play on the other Autobots. Ironhide and Prowl would be sorry that he'd had this much spare time.

A dull clanking heralded the medic's arrival. All three heads jerked up simultaneously, it would have been an entertaining sight if it weren't for the somber mood.

Ratchet met their optics as he entered. He paused, shook his head and continued on to the energon dispenser.

Sunstreaker sank back against the couch with a disbelieving sigh. Was that it? Michelle was dead and there was nothing they could do about it?

"Do you want to see her?" Bluestreak asked softly after several moments.

The Twins nodded and stood slowly. The walk to the medbay felt much longer than it usually did.

Although most of the time they went to the medbay they were running and one of them was injured.

The trio stopped infront of the plain metal doors. They didn't move, it was as though they were waiting for the doors to open on their own because they didn't have the will power to do it themselves.

"If all you are going to do is stare at the doors, at least move aside so that others can enter."

Sunstreaker turned to see Ratchet with a cube of energon. Sunny stepped to the side and allowed the medic to do what they couldn't, open the doors.

Ratchet shook his head at them and walked passed. Hesitantly they followed.

* * *

**What will they find on the other side?**

**Hugs for whoever guesses right :)**

**TammyCat**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi all,**

**I know th has been a while in coming. And it was going to be a while more. I was intending for this to be one giant final chapter, but I though you might enjoy one now.**

**So beware. The end is coming.**

**Thank you for all your reviews. dandyparakeet was the closest to guessing what has happened. Hugs! **

**I enjoy that most of you thought she was going to become a femme. Sorry, not this time :(**

**Well, read and enjoy!**

* * *

The medbay door slid open and the trio of mechs followed Ratchet inside. The room was uncharacteristically messy. Tools littered multiple surfaces, scraps of metal plating and wiring lay scattered across the floor and stained cloths covered the rest of the spaces.

The only mess-free area was on a table in the middle of the room. It held only a white sheet spread across a still form.

Ratchet left the trio near the entrance and passed the energon cube to a tired looking First-Aid. The smaller white and red mech was clearing up the benches.

Sunstreaker led the others to the table. Bluestreak moved to the opposite side while Sideswipe remained next to Sunny and held his hand.

They gazed down at the limp body. Her hair was spread across the dull metal surface like a fan, her face was pale but relaxed, dark bruises under her eyes made her look terribly ill. The skin of her shoulders and neck, that wasn't bound by bandages, was pale and almost transparent. They couldn't see any more of her due to the covering, but then they didn't want to see the damage she had sustained.

Sunstreaker could feel his brother's pain through their link and could see it on Bluestreak's face.

First-Aid appeared at Blue's side. "Don't worry. Everything will be back to normal in a few cycles."

Sunstreaker just looked at the medic. They had all endured so much pain over the last two days that the thought of being normal was alien.

Sideswipe sank to his elbows next to Michelle's head, his dull blue optics casting a sad glow over her face.

"I'm sorry Michelle. We never meant for this to happen."

Sunny wrapped an arm around Sideswipes shoulders and Blue covered his hand.

"Hrrrrn."

Three pairs of shocked optics flew to Michelle's face. It was still pale and unmoving. Sunny was thinking that stress had caused his neural circuits to glitch, but that wouldn't account for the avid expressions on Sideswipe and Bluestreak's faces. Unless he was still in the brig and imagining this.

The small moan came again. Excitement bubbled in Sunstreaker's spark as the pale lips parted and a soft groan emerged. Surprise and happiness jumped from Sideswipe's spark and Sunny answered with his own.

Ventilation ceased functioning as the trio waited for something else to happen. After what seemed like eternity, but was actually only a few minutes, Michelle's blue-rimmed eyes opened. They were out of focus and very tired-looking but they were open and she was alive.

"Hi guys." Her voice was soft and scratchy.

"Hi." They replied in unison.

"Are you okay?"

Their heads nodded. Bluestreak's faster than the Twins.

"Good. I would hate to have gone through that only to find out you were dead."

"They're like weeds." Ratchet scoffed. "They just don't give up."

The Twins smiled at the medic. He merely nodded back and continued to clean up.

"We thought you were dead." Sunstreaker said as he lowered his head to the table. Michelle moved to sit up and was quickly aided by six hands.

"Why would you think that?"

"Ratchet shook his head when he came out, we assumed…"

Michelle smiled comfortingly as a wrench collided with the side of his head.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Since when have I ever lost a patient?" Ratchet growled.

Sunny grinned and returned his attention to Michelle.

"I hope you never do, especially with these three to look after."

"Luckily Bluestreak visits less frequently than those two." Ratchet replied, retrieving the wrench he had thrown.

Michelle smiled and pulled the sheet still higher over her body. Ratchet paused by the berth and ran a scan over her.

"Once you are fully energized again I want you to come back and we'll see what we can do about your legs."

"What happened to her legs?" Bluestreak asked with wide optics.

"She sustained a great deal of damage to them, along with severe burns and trauma to her abdomen. She is lucky that the Twins got her to me in time. Any later and she would be a resident of the morgue."

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker shared a victorious grin that they transferred to Michelle.

"If you two would take her away, she needs constant surveillance while she recovers. Make sure she ingests lots of fluids. Should she start to bleed bring her straight back here. Other than that I don't want you to darken my medbay."

Michelle smiled tiredly up at the medic. "I will take you up on your earlier promise when I'm better, all right?"

A dark smile appeared on Ratchet's face. "I'll have everything ready for you."

A confused look passed between the three mechs. What had Ratchet promised to Michelle?

Sideswipe ignored his foreboding feeling and tried to maneuver Michelle into a standing position. She clutched the sheet to her body, wrapping it around her. When she wouldn't stand on her own he shifted her onto his hand.

"Standing and walking is unadvisable at this stage. You will need to carry her everywhere."

"Why?" Sunstreaker asked worriedly.

Ratchet sighed sufferingly. "She was just awoken from surgery so moving will be hard and she will tire easily. Also she no longer has legs so walking will be a bit of a problem."

Sunny and Sides stared and Ratchet and then at Michelle. She smiled softly and moved the sheet away from her legs. Except they weren't there.

Her legs had been removed from the knee. The skin on her thighs was dark and warped, inevitable scars that would mark her legs for life. At the base, where her knees were, a cap of metal had been placed over the stump. Two extensions ran up the outside of Michelle's thigh from the cap to her hips. They looked like they had been imbedded into her skin.

"Does that hurt?" Sideswipe asked.

"Well it doesn't tickle." She replied with a faint smile. "Don't worry. Ratchet said he'd fix me up and I believe him, especially if he can keep getting you two on your feet."

The white medic appeared at their side. "Lots of rest and fluids. No strenuous activity and definitely no helping them get into trouble."

"I think they can manage that just fine without my help." She smiled and yawned.

"Rest. Now." He then shooed all four of them out of the medbay and into the corridor.

"What do we do now?" Bluestreak asked.

"Quarters. Ratchet said that she needs rest." Sunstreaker replied as he led the way.

* * *

Michelle spent almost all of the next week asleep or talking to the Twins and Bluestreak, who had taken up a place in their room so he could be near her. Every now and then her legs would cramp and one of the three would rush her to Ratchet. Luckily she didn't reopen her wounds and her healing was progressing well, much to Ratchet's increasing ego.

At the start of her second week with the Autobots, Michelle was summoned to the medbay. With Sideswipe as her escort she headed for her appointment.

Instead of finding Ratchet waiting for them, a mechanoid she had never seen before was standing in his place.

"Hey, 'Jack. Where's Ratchet?" Sideswipe asked as he gently set Michelle onto the bench.

"He's just getting some stuff from my lab."

"Why?"

"He said he didn't want me to blow it up on my way here." A smile colored his voice.

Sideswipe chuckled and perched on the opposite berth. They were waiting for only a few minutes for Ratchet to arrive. He carried a box and looked very pleased with himself.

"What's in the box doc?" Sides asked.

"A prototype. One that will hopefully allow Michelle complete mobility."

Michelle's eyes widened. "Really! I'll be able to walk again?"

"That is the intention." Ratchet replied. He placed the box on the berth and removed the lid. Inside was a pair of shining metal legs.

"Cool. I'm going to have cyber-legs." Michelle said excitedly.

"Is that safe Ratch?" Sides asked.

The medic scowled at him. "What would I gain from endangering her life? I'm not interested in conducting a science experiment. If it were Wheeljack performing the procedure I would agree that my neural circuitry needed upgrades."

Wheeljack, who stood to the side, took the friendly abuse with a smile. He knew that if Ratchet had ever doubted his abilities he wouldn't be allowed anywhere near the medbay.

Michelle looked at both mechs and noticed the smile in Wheeljack's optics. Here were two friends who obviously knew each other extremely well. Just like the Twins.

"Thank you Ratchet. If it weren't for you I'd be six feet under."

The medic nodded, acknowledging her gratitude.

"And you too Wheeljack. Thank you for my soon-to-be new legs."

Head fins flashed. "I hope you like them." He threw a glance at Ratchet and added in a lower tone. "I even added some nitro-glycerin grenades; they're in the left hip."

What!" Both Ratchet and Sideswipe cried.

"What did you do that for?"

"Are you expecting her to get into a fight?"

Wheeljack faltered under the joint attack. "I didn't really. I'm not that crazy." He smiled and waved his hands soothingly.

Sideswipe leaned back and lowered his fist. Michelle grinned at him. Finally, someone who didn't mind teasing the twin. Although he might just be doing it to get at Ratchet. It didn't really matter, Michelle liked him anyway.

"When do we do this?" She asked suddenly serious. As confident as she was with the Autobot medic's skills she was slightly terrified.

"Whenever you're ready. As soon as possible would no doubt be best."

"You don't need to do any tests on the legs to make sure they're safe?" Sideswipe asked, his hand curling protectively around Michelle's back.

"There aren't anymore tests to be done." Wheeljack replied.

"Unless you'd like to see how well they explode." Ratchet added dryly.

Wheeljack looked at him excitedly until he realized that the medic had been joking. Pouting slightly he returned to his spot near the wall.

"If there's nothing stopping us, let's get to it." Michelle said decisively.

Ratchet nodded and herded Sideswipe out. The red twin complained loudly and hurled threats of pranking against the doors when they were shut in his face. Michelle tried to conquer her thundering heart as the medic advanced on her.

"Okay, could you explain what's going to happen?"

"You will be sedated. Then I will use the pieces already imbedded into your thighs to attach the robotic legs to. After that I'll just have to do some small operational tweaking."

"Tweaking? Why doesn't that sound good?"

"It is perfectly risk-free. Just to be sure that they function properly."

"Oh." Michelle nodded lightly. "That sounds like you know what you're doing."

"I always know what I'm doing." He said with pride.

Michelle smiled at him and spread he arms. "All right then, where do you want me?"

Ratchet's answer was to scoop her into his hand and deposit her on a large, cold, metal table. Michelle flinched as she touched it.

"My apologies, but it will only be for a moment or two." He leaned over her with a massive needle. Massive because it was built to fit his hand.

Michelle's heart stopped. She hated needles. She could take almost anything, from racing at extreme speeds over dangerous ground to receiving multiple beatings by crazed psychos. But she couldn't stand needles. It was irrational, she knew that, but she still couldn't stand to be anywhere near a needle. It was one of the reasons she hated hospitals.

"Where are you going to stick that?" She asked shakily.

"In here." He held up an IV.

She sighed in relief. At least it would be a small needle and not the monster one in his hand.

"If you are uncomfortable with using hypodermic needles, I could transfer the sedative into a different form."

"That sounds like a good idea."

Ratchet looked at her in amusement. He had long since realized that humans were often victims to irrational fears.

Michelle watched as the white Autobot fiddled with something in the corner. She was eager to get this over and done with, and from the sounds Sideswipe was making on the other side of the door so was he. Ratchet approached her with a weird device in his hands. It was as tall as her but about the width of her arm.

"Ready?"

"Sure, let's do this."

He maneuvered the device infront of her. "Place the face mask over your mouth and nose and inhale deeply."

Michelle picked up the face mask. It was attached to the cylinder with a thick pipe. The mask itself was made of a dark rubber that looked like it would mold to her features.

Placing the mask over her face Michelle felt her head start to feel light. The stuff was strong!

Doing as she was told she breathed deeply of the mind-numbing gas. The world around her faded and she began to sway. Michelle's last thought before she lost consciousness was that she should have moved away from the edge of the table before doing this.

* * *

Sideswipe radioed Sunstreaker. Ratchet had locked him out of the medbay and there were no sounds coming through the doors, not even muffled talking. Sunny skidded around the corner with Prowl close behind.

"I swear, I didn't put that hole in Huffer's chassis."

"You're that only one who would do it Sunstreaker. Just admit it and we can get this over with."

The scowl on Sunstreaker's face did not bode well for whoever turned out to be his next punching bag. "What's going on?" He asked as he closed the distance between them and Sideswipe.

"Ratch has Michelle in surgery. They're giving her some legs."

"Legs? But hers were destroyed."

"Ratchet does have some skill, you should know that after all the times he's put you two back together." Prowl said tartly.

The twins ignored him instead they made themselves comfortable and prepared to wait for the surgery to finish. Four hours later and they were still waiting.

* * *

**What did you think? Please review.**

**TammyCat**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi.  
****I apologise for the massive wait, my muse left when it realised that I was finishing this story. Inexplicably it came back earlier this week. I'm hoping it'll stay around for the very final chapter. Next chapter, that's a promise that I'll hopefully keep.**

**Thank you to those who reviewed the last update. **

**Here goes, almost done. Enjoy!**

* * *

Michelle's head swam with hazy images. Colors bled together and lines spread like spider webs until whatever the picture had started off as ended up as an unidentifiable soup of color. Slowly her mind began to emerge from the thick miasma of her drugged state.

Around her she could hear muffled voices, as if she had cotton stuffed in her ears. Shifting her hands to her head Michelle confirmed that her ears were not full of fluff. Rolling onto her stomach, she covered her head with her arms and slipped back into the calm darkness of sleep.

* * *

She woke with a jerk, shoving herself up onto her arms. Sharp breathes came from her lungs as she fought back some of the hazy panic that clung to her mind. Slowly she opened her eyes; the room around her was dark and quiet.

She dropped her head onto her pillow with a sigh. That had been the strangest dream she had had in years. She hadn't dreamed about the Twins since they'd left her and certainly hadn't ever thought anyone by the name of Bluestreak even existed.

A lingering doubt made Michelle twitch her feet; she could feel the fabric of her sheet shift against her toes. She sighed and rolled onto her back.

_It had just been a dream. A really fucked up dream._

Pushing the blanket aside Michelle swung her legs off the bed and let them hit the floor, it was cold and smooth. Resting her elbows on the bare skin of her thighs she dropped her head into her hands. Maybe she should look into finding the Twins. Maybe that's what her dream had been trying to tell her.

She dropped her hands and tried to bring warmth back into them by rubbing them against her legs. Her whole body froze as her fingers encountered something hard at her knees. Tentatively she explored the expanse of metal that seemed to sprout from her skin.

Her limbs started to shake as her brain processed the new information. Her legs were made of metal. Memories burst into her head.

The chase.

The Twins.

George and Brandon.

The Decepticons.

Her house destroyed.

The ranch.

The Twins.

The lies.

Their pain.

Her pain.

The threats.

The fight.

It all ran through her head. Every last torment filled moment of those hours flashed through her mind. She fell to her knees on the floor, gasping, the rekindled fear, anger and hurt had caused a huge weight to press upon Michelle's chest. The pressure turned to physical pain as she fisted her hands and slammed them into the metal plating on the floor beneath her. Pain lanced through her hands and up her arms. Fear mixed with the hurt and caused the weight in her chest to rupture, tipping her head back she screamed.

The trio was startled by the sudden scream. Leaping to their feet they raced to Michelle's room.

They burst through the doors to see Michelle kneeling on the floor with her hands curled into fists. Blood dripped onto the metal plating.

"Michelle!"

Her head swung around, dazed eyes found them.

"Are you all right?" Bluestreak asked as he knelt beside her.

"Blue?"

Her voice was little more than a shaky whisper. He nodded and brought his face closer to her level. She let out a soft cry and launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around as much of his face as she could.

"It's good to see you too Michelle." Bluestreak's voice was muffled by her body. Gentle fingers pried her away, her hands leaving bloody smears across his face plates.

Sunstreaker cradled her in his palm, they gazed down at her. Michelle's panting breaths eased as she looked up at her three friends. Their concerned and welcome faces were calming to her ragged nerves.

"I thought it was all a dream." She said quietly.

"Thought what was a dream?" Sideswipe asked.

She pulled air deep into her lungs and tried to steady her still racing heart as she slowly became more aware of her surroundings.

"Everything. You guys, the Decepticons, the fight, my legs. I thought it was all a dream."

"We're not a dream. We're real and you're safe."

Michelle sighed softly and smiled. "I know. I just had a bit of trouble remembering."

Ratchet chose that moment to stride into the room. "Ah, so you are still alive. I thought perhaps one of these lummoxes had crushed you in their happiness that you'd survived the operation."

She looked up, confused. "I didn't think there was any risk to my life with the surgery."

"Well with you organics there is always the potential for infection, however for all intents and purposes there was minimal risk. These two however," He gestured to the Twins. "Seem to think that I cannot operate with any skill on a human."

"Hey, we didn't say that." Sideswipe denied.

"No you just threatened to turn him into scrap metal if she didn't make it." Bluestreak said with a smile.

Michelle turned on them with wide eyes. "You did what?"

The Twins shrugged and smiled at her. Shaking her head Michelle stifled her laughter, those two would never change.

"Well, if the patient is capable of standing on her own, you may take her back to your quarters. But Michelle, I want you back here everyday after your midday meal. I want to watch you practice working your legs. I'm fairly sure that all components are fully operational but I have never performed a procedure like yours before."

"You don't think the legs work properly?" Her eyes strayed to the metal legs.

"They should but there is no harm in being positive."

Michelle nodded and stepped into Sunstreaker's hand. "I'll be back tomorrow then. Thank you Ratchet."

The medic nodded and shooed them out of the medbay.

* * *

_1 week later_

Michelle hid around the corner with Sunstreaker as they watched Sideswipe enter Prowl's office to put the last element of their prank into place. He ran back with as much stealth as he had. Within minutes of Sideswipe joining them behind the wall, Prowl appeared at the end of the corridor. His gaze was on the datapad in his hand, his doorwings twitched occasionally while he read. Michelle knew for a fact that it was a report on the Twins latest pranks, more precisely Sideswipe's pranks and Sunstreaker's involvement as his encouragement. They had attacked the mini-bots quarters while the mechs had been recharging.

Michelle sniggered as she recalled what they had done to the mini-bots. Huffer had been welded back-to-back to Brawn and Cliffjumper now had a heart with 'Megatron & Starscream' painted on his back. The Twins grinned down at her as she tried to stifle her laughter.

Prowl paused before entering his office, his optics darting from one end of the hall to the other as if he was expecting something to happen. When nothing did he opened the door and disappeared from sight.

Michelle waited with baited breath along-side Sunny and Sides, they were listening for a sound that Prowl had noticed what was wrong. A loud and rough sigh floated out of the office and they looked at each other in success. Prowl appeared back in the doorway, his face was unreadable but his doorwings trembled with restrained emotion.

"Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, I know you are listening. Get out here now."

The Twins chuckled silently not moving from their hiding spot.

_If you don't report to me now, it will be three months in the brig instead of three days._

They looked at each other and nodded, plastering innocent expressions onto their faces the trio rounded the corner as though they had just been walking past. Prowl watched them approached with narrowed optics.

"Hey there Prowl, you called us?" Sideswipe grinned charmingly.

The look on Prowl's face showed that he didn't trust or believe their faux-innocence. His optics roved over the Twins faces before falling onto Michelle, sitting on Sunstreaker's foot. He shuttered his optics and vented another sigh. "It is bad enough that you disturb the peace of this base with your antics, but that you would place a human in danger just to play your pranks…it is inconceivably irresponsible."

"What danger?" Sunny scoffed.

Prowl frowned at him and passed him a datapad. Sunstreaker still had his blasé expression as he read, it quickly turned dark.

"What does it say Sunny?" Sideswipe asked, trying to look over his brother's shoulder.

"It's a report from Cliffjumper." He handed over the datapad.

Sideswipe started reading out-loud. "_It's my opinion that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe should be held in custody indefinitely while an investigation into their malicious behavior is conducted._" He looked up at Prowl. "Indefinitely! Malicious!"

"Keep reading." Sunny snarled.

"_Their constant and abusive behavior towards other Autobots places their victims in danger, in and out of battle. Cruel pranks disguised as playful jokes have rendered more than one mech vulnerable and unable to function effectively._ Who's vulnerable? Huffer finally had someone watching his back."

Prowl took the datapad from Sideswipe. "The report continues to detail your faults and 'crimes' for two pages. Then goes on to give advice on how you should be incarcerated and punished for your actions."

"That little glitch doesn't know what malicious is."

Prowl sent Sunstreaker a warning glare. "Cliffjumper's report will be placed with all the others against you two. If this continues to be a regular occurrence Prime will be forced to act. You two are allowed far more leeway than the others because you are our best front-liners and we can't afford to lose you, but neither Optimus Prime nor myself will be able to protect you should the charges against you become more demanding. I will overlook what you have done to my office, as long as you undo your handiwork." He turned away from them and started walking away. He glanced back over his shoulder. "You will report to the brig as soon as you're finished."

Michelle could have sworn she saw a grin on the serious mechs face as he walked away. Above her Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were talking. Sunstreaker was mostly making promises against Cliffjumper's life and Sideswipe was helping him.

"Guys…Guys!" Michelle yelled to get their attention. They looked down at her for a moment before Sunny transferred her onto Sideswipe's shoulder. "You need to calm down, you heard the man, this will all be taken care of."

Sunstreaker still sported a dark look of retribution. "Cliffjumper won't know what hit him when we're done with him."

"Sunny, that's the attitude that got you into this mess. Stay calm and don't do anything but what Prowl told you to do, we'll get the mini-bot back later."

"I knew there was a reason we liked you." Sideswipe said smiling. Sunstreaker's optics gleamed with approval.

"You mean apart from my obvious good looks and sparkling nature?" Michelle smoothed back her hair and batted her lashes at them.

The brothers looked at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. Michelle latched onto the side of Sideswipe's helmet to stop herself from falling off the shaking frame. She frowned at them playfully.

Sideswipe dragged air through his in-takes with a sigh; his body still shook lightly. "Come on, let's fix Prowl's office, the sooner we finish the sooner we can have our revenge."

Michelle was aware of their volatile natures as they entered Prowl's office and that knowledge didn't stop her from commenting on their achievement.

"Boys, that is some very fine work."

Prowl's whole office had been turned upside down. Literally. The desk, filing cabinets, bookcases and even the chairs had been welded to the ceiling directly above where they usually sat in the room.

The Twins grinned and admired the scene of controlled chaos that they loved to create, on the battle-field or off.

They labored in Prowls office for hours repairing the damage they had wrought. Michelle had sat back and watched claiming that she was too small and weak to help them with returning the room to its studious tidiness.

"That was very good, now off to the brig, I'll meet you in your quarters when you get out."

Sunny growled and marched out of the office, Sideswipe looked over his shoulder at her. "Stay out of trouble."

"That sure means a lot coming from you, have you finished redecorating your cell yet?"

"Hahaha." Sideswipe stuck out his glossa.

Michelle returned the gesture and laughed. "Don't worry, I'll probably hang out with Blue. I've barely seen him."

Sideswipe response was cut off as Prowl appeared at the end of the corridor, his face impassive but his doorwings twitched an impatient rhythm. With a sheepish look back Sideswipe joined Sunstreaker and Prowl.

As they disappeared around the corner Michelle indulged herself with a wave of satisfaction. She had promised herself to caused the Twins a great deal of misery if they survived the confrontation with the Decepticons and she was more than happy to keep her word.

Thinking back on that day, it felt so very long ago, Michelle didn't know what had become of Thundercracker and Skywarp. Whenever she would try and find out all she would get back were evasive answers. Dismissing them as irrelevant, Michelle hurried to set up her next stage. She was having far too much fun with this.

* * *

Michelle strolled into Ratchet's medbay with a huge smile on her face.

Ratchet looked up from his patient. "It went well?"

"Excellently. Prowl almost skitzed and the Twins are now in the brig."

The mech on the table chuckled. "This one is going to be as much trouble as those two are."

"Better, she's helping me get back at them for harassing me while she was recovering."

Michelle's grin widened further. "I did it only so you would keep your promise."

"Of course I will, it's not everyday I get to see the Twins beat up by a human."

The mech on the repair bench tried to get up. "This human is going to do what?"

"Stay down Smokescreen." Ratchet growled putting a restraining hand on the blue shoulder. Michelle scrambled up onto the bench.

"Michelle, get down. It's not safe for you up here."

"Yeah yeah." She waved her hand dismissively. She looked into the strangers face. "So, who're you?"

"Smokescreen. You must be Sides and Sunny's carefully guarded human."

"Yes I am. I'm not too sure about that carefully guarded part but I am their human." Michelle said proudly.

Ratchet growled and lifted her onto his shoulder. "If you get hurt those two will not leave me alone unless I sedate them."

Smokescreen laughed. "And how often do some of the others beg you to do that anyway."

"Huffer probably does everyday." Michelle replied.

Ratchet's only response was a grunt as he got back to work on Smokescreen's torn up shoulder and chest.

"What happened to you?" Michelle asked as she watched Ratchet work his magic.

"The same thing that happened to you, Decepticons."

"When did that happen? I don't remember any fighting."

"I was on patrol and got caught by Ravage."

"Oh." She didn't know who Ravage was but the name sounded scary enough.

Ratchet snorted. "I still don't understand how it happened. Bumblebee can take Ravage."

"On a good day maybe. Plus it was an ambush, he came up behind me." Smokescreen defended.

Michelle smiled consolingly. "I don't know who Ravage is but he sounds terrifying."

"Coming from the human who took on two seekers and the Twins in one day." Ratchet quipped as his hand s delved beneath Smokescreen's armor.

"That is quite impressive. I can see why Sunstreaker likes you."

"Is he really that hard to get along with?"

"Occasionally, but he doesn't like humans. You must be the only one he's willing to tolerate."

Michelle blinked; she'd thought Sunstreaker had always been as nice to other humans as he was to her. "What about Sideswipe? Does he like humans?"

"Other than you? He doesn't mind them."

"So why are the tricksters in the brig, again?" Ratchet asked, turning the conversation in a different direction.

"They had some fun with the mini-bots."

"I should have known. I had to pry Huffer off Brawn and Cliffjumper was in here looking for industrial strength dissolvent."

Michelle laughed. "The painting was a brilliant idea, if I do say so myself."

"Painting Cliffjumper was your idea?" Smokescreen asked in astonishment. "I never would have picked you for a prankster."

Michelle shrugged. "I spent lots of time with the Twins when I was younger; I picked up a few things."

"Remind me not to get on your bad side."

Michelle chuckled evilly.

"Someone should have told Cliffjumper that before he tried to get the Twins arrested." Ratchet said wryly.

Michelle's grin widened. "He'll regret what he did."

"Stop that now." A voice commanded from the doorway. Ratchet turned with Michelle, Prowl stood there glaring at her. "I know you had a hand in what happened, and it's only because you're human that you're not with the Twins in the brig."

"Wrong. I'm not in the brig because you couldn't find any evidence that I was there." Michelle said smugly.

Prowl continued to scowl. "Optimus Prime allows you to stay on base because of the trauma you received at the hands of the Decepticons, he believes you may be in danger if you are returned to your home, but that does not mean you can harass the inhabitants of this base. Do I make myself clear?"

Michelle saluted smartly. "Sir, yes, sir. I will not engage in frivolous behavior with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, sir."

He watched her suspiciously.

"But can I still play with Bluestreak?" She asked with her cutest smile and puppy-dog eyes.

Prowl's doorwings slumped and he walked out of the medbay. Michelle controlled her laughter until the officer had left the room. Under her feet Ratchet's frame shook ever so slightly, and Smokescreen was grinning like an idiot.

"He is far too fun to play with." Michelle sighed as her laughter faded.

Ratchet shook his head and removed her from his shoulder to the ground. "Behave yourself now and meet me back here when the boys get out of the brig, I'll have everything set up for you."

* * *

**What did ya think? Please review and let me know.**


	16. Chapter 16

**My God! I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to update. If anyone is still reading this, thank you. **

**As promised this is the last chapter. I have never managed to finish anything I've ever written (unless it was for school) so I apologize if the ending isn't so good.**

**Thank you to everyone who alerted, faved, reviewed or just read. **

* * *

Michelle was waiting for the Twins when they got out of the brig. Their complaining about the mini-bots that put them there wasn't too different to their bitching any other day so Michelle took it all in with a smile, her hands tapping against her hips with impatience. Eventually her silence caught their attention.

"What's up with you?"

"My legs are frozen, I can't move. Could you take me to Ratchet?"

"When did that happen?" Sides asked leaning close.

"About two hours ago."

"And you were just waiting for us to come back?" Sunny looked at her skeptically.

Michelle shrugged. "I called Bluestreak about ten minutes ago but he hasn't turned up yet."

A chime went off and Bluestreak poked his head in.

"Speak of the devil." Michelle grinned.

Blue smiled back. "Did you need me Michelle?"

"It's nice to see you too." Sunstreaker sent the Datsun a look. Blue just smiled more and pressed a kiss to Sideswipe's cheek.

"I did need you. I have to get to Ratchet, my legs have stalled or something."

Bluestreak looked concerned. "Did you want to go now?"

"That would be good, yeah. Would you mind Sides?" Sideswipe nodded and carefully picked her up. "Come with us Blue. It'll be nice to spend time with you again."

He smiled back and followed them through the base.

* * *

Sideswipe held Michelle close to his chassis as they headed for the Medbay. It surprised him that Michelle's legs had malfunctioned since they were the joint product of Ratchet and Wheeljack. Then again the Dinobots had the same creators as Michelle's legs and they didn't always seem fully functional either. Wisely, Sideswipe kept that opinion to himself.

The Medbay doors loomed infront of them and Sideswipe felt his normal trepidation at nearing them. Usually when he was here he was injured or someone important to him was injured. The doors slid back into the wall with a light hum and Sideswipe was momentarily dazzled by the shine coming from all the surfaces.

First-Aid's head poked out from Ratchet's office and disappeared back inside, Ratchet then strode into sight with First-Aid following.

"You all look fully functional, so what are you doing here?" The medic asked as he walked across the room.

Sideswipe held out his palm. Michelle smiled and stood up, much to the surprise of the one who was holding her.

"I've come to collect."

Ratchet nodded. "I suspected as much. First-Aid, the doors."

Sideswipe twisted his head to see the young medic lock the doors. He looked back at the Ratchet, next to him Sunny was frowning in confusion.

"Ratch, what's going on? Michelle, why are standing? I thought your legs were non-functional."

"That was a lie. My legs are fine and I'm taking the opportunity to get Ratchet's help on some revenge."

"Revenge against whom?" Sunstreaker asked. Sideswipe really wished he hadn't.

Michelle jumped limberly from Sideswipe's hand onto a table. "Revenge against you two, for having me kidnapped."

"We didn't know the Decepticons were near there." Sides denied.

"Not that kidnapping. His kidnapping." She pointed at Ratchet.

"When did Ratchet kidnap you?"

"After you two idiots got the crap beaten out of you. He forced me to come here so I could help save your lives."

"We're not complaining." Sideswipe remarked.

"I know, but you still need to be punished."

"For something we had no idea about?"

"No. For being stupid enough to walk into an obvious trap and getting yourselves so screwed over that you were barely recognizable."

Michelle nodded to Ratchet and the Twins felt a sharp pain in their necks before their bodies froze.

"What the slag is going on? Why can't we move?" Sideswipe demanded.

Michelle strolled along the edge of the bench casually.

"First-Aid paralyzed you. Don't worry Ratchet assures me that it will wear off eventually but not before I'm done with you."

The dark grin on her face worried Sideswipe more than not being able to move. He remembered that look, it usually appeared before she wrought her revenge. Sides shared his concern with Sunstreaker and felt an answering wave of confused unease from his brother's end.

"Ratchet's helping you?"

"For a while now."

Only Sideswipes optics moved to the medic. "Why?"

Ratchet grinned. "She has been helping me and Prowl keep tabs on you. Since she's been here your visits to my medbay have halved and Prowl, well, he knows which pranks you've pulled."

The Twins turned betrayed and horrified optics to Michelle. "You sold out to Prowl?"

She shrugged. "Only until my revenge is finished. Which, if you cooperate, should be today." She turned to Ratchet and held out her hands. "Hammer please."

Fear appeared on Sunny's face as they were lowered onto a pair of berths. The tables were pushed together so Michelle could walk between the brothers without assistance.

"Now Ratchet promised to let me beat you two up when you were fully functional again, I decided that now would be a good time to take him up on it."

"I remember hearing that." Sideswipe said. "I hoped that was a nightmare."

"Sorry babe, it wasn't. Now I'm going to give you both lots of dents, well more Sides than Sunny."

"Why?" Sideswipe asked indignantly.

"Because he'll squish me if I make him look too bad. As it is I'm not going to attack his face or hands. Your face is safe too, but not the rest of you." Michelle then lifted her sledgehammer.

* * *

Outside the medbay passerby's would dart glances at the doors as muted shouts and curses floated through the thick steel. Prowl, Jazz and Bluestreak stood there making sure no one stayed to listen. Prowl had small satisfied smile on his face, while Jazz openly grinned and Blue looked worried.

"So she actually told ya what they were goin' to do to the mini-bots?" Jazz asked.

Prowl nodded. "Yes, but only after they had done it. She had just left my office when Cliffjumper and Huffer came in to file their complaints."

"Did she say anythin' about your office gettin' done?"

"No but she did warn me not to leave it unsupervised."

Jazz broke down into gales of laughter and Bluestreak stifled his smile. She was more like the Twins than either officer had expected her to be. They didn't know that she had led the pranks against the mini-bots. Bluestreak suspected that after she had finished with the Twins, the rest of the Ark had better watch their backs or they would find themselves Michelle's next target. That in mind, anyone who was not particularly nice to the lambos would probably be at the top of her list.

Blue shifted on his feet and waited for the medbay doors to open again.

* * *

Michelle was quite proud of her work two hours later when she let the Twins go. Sunstreaker glared at her and Sideswipe complained but she knew they would both be looking for her by the end of the day. They needed fresh ideas for pranks and she was full of them.

Jazz and Prowl entered the medbay after the Twins had left. Jazz was still laughing lightly.

"They look like a pair of red and yellow golf balls." He chuckled.

Ratchet appeared from his office and smiled at the other mechs. "She did do a thorough job on them didn't she?"

"Yes. Maybe that will keep them from causing any trouble for a while." Prowl said.

Michelle leaned against the handle of her sledgehammer. "I wouldn't count on that Prowl, they are rather tenacious."

The black and white officer stared at her as if he was trying to pull any plans from her head. Michelle merely smiled back serenely. Ratchet appeared next to her and took away the hammer.

"Thank you for letting me borrow that."

The medical officer inclined his head. "I did promise."

"All right, I should go find them and make sure they still love me. Can I get a hand here?"

Jazz's hand appeared at the table's edge and Michelle climbed on. She waved back at the trio as she exited. As soon as she was out of sight he mind turned to more entertaining things, like what Red Alert would do when he saw a giant plush panda sitting infront of the armory or what Bumblebee would look like covered in hot pink feathers and glitter.

She found the Twins in their quarters with Bluestreak, Sunstreaker refused to speak to her until she pointed out that he only had a few dents and no scratched paint, plus she volunteered to help him the next time he wanted a wax job. Sideswipe forgave her as soon as she outlined some of her ideas.

Michelle smiled to herself as they debated how to get a large fluffy panda into the base without anyone noticing. She was glad that they had found her again, even if it had taken a whole lot of drama to bring them back together.

She blinked as Sideswipe called her name.

"Sorry, I got distracted. What were you saying?"

"We were wondering if maybe it would be better to get lots of the pandas and put them everywhere."

Her smile widened. "Good idea. There's a carnival in town in a couple of weeks, we can get them then."

She leaned back watching their excited faces and decided that there was nowhere else she would rather be than right here.

* * *

**So was it a bad ending or what? Too sappy?**

**See ya round.**

**TammyCat**


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